


The Mini Slayer

by LaceySolane



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: F/M, Family, Friendship, Inspired by Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-08
Updated: 2018-02-26
Packaged: 2018-05-25 12:36:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 123,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6195364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaceySolane/pseuds/LaceySolane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You are the link. You are the middle ground, the unrealized power, both protector and protected, working with dark and light forces, connected to both sides." When Ally arrived in Sunnydale, she didn't expect the turn her life would take, as if it wasn't chaotic enough. And it would all start with a meeting with a certain vampire. Spike/OC S5 and on. Comments and reviews are very much appreciated. I'll try to answer to all of you if I can. Please, let me know what you think!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was too late in the streets of Sunnydale to be safe; everyone should know that by then. He often wondered how there were not more deaths, seeing how foolish the locals were. Of course, he used to be the one to kill them, not so long ago -in vampire standards at least- but, hell, right in that moment, it gave him the chance to let some steam off. Always look for the silver lining.

He grabbed the girl that had been about to be turned into a meal for five vampires in the alleyway, pushed her away from the group, and wiggled his shoulders, getting ready for the fight.

"I suggest you run, pet." Spike briefly looked over his shoulder at the trembling thirty-something woman, but she seemed to be frozen.

Great.

The vampires lunged at him, forcing him to dodge and try to strike a few times. Fortunately, they were inexperienced vamps, probably the reason why there were five of them for one petty human. Noobs.

Still, fighting all five of them at the same time was complicated at best. Where was the Slayer when he needed one? Well, not needed, but she could be helpful. After all, that was her job.

His pleas seemed to be answered when two of the vamps left him to fight someone else, judging by the sound of fist and feet crushing against muscle and bone. He managed to get his stake out and dust one of the noobs still hell bent on beating him, earning him a break and watching over his shoulder to the Slay...

What the hell? That was not the annoying tiny blonde Slayer that punched him as a hobby. This one was brunette. Wait, there was another Slayer, he knew that much, a brunette one, but... wasn't she in jail? With the girl's back facing him, he couldn't be sure of who she was, but she moved like a pro. Yet, he could see her hits where more strategic than strong, getting her opponents out of balance so she could dust them with the stake she took out of the waistband of her jeans.

He was brought out of his assessment by one of "his" vamps lunging at him again. He easily sidestepped, kneed him in the gut and then in the face, taking advantage of the idiot clutching his head to stake him.

The last one seemed to be the leader of the little band, judging from his bigger size and better fighting style. He was stronger than the rest, landing a strong punch to Spike's jaw, which made him put on his game face, snarling at the giant. He dodged the next punch aimed at him and kicked the vamp, sending him stumbling backwards. Spike stalked forwards, wanting to finish the bloody bastard already.

One way or another, he wasn't sure how, the hulk sized vamp managed to kick him in the gut and send him flying to the trash cans and wall, his head hitting the bricks with a bone crushing sound and acute pain.

He couldn't see anything but black spots for a couple seconds, and when he recovered enough to see a blurred image, he found the mute vamp in front of him, ready to take the final blow.

Ow, bloody hell, was he really gonna go out like that? A noob vamp in an alley? No huge threat, no boss demon, no slayer. A noob. Well, shit.

Suddenly, the vamp exploded into a cloud of dust, raining down on him, and he could see a silhouette where the giant had been, holding a stake high, still on a fighting stance.

And there was silence. No signs of a battle but the dust that covered the ground, no sounds but the ragged breathing of the girl in front of him.

He could see her face now, his sight clearing up, and he knew it was not the brunette slayer. Her hair was dark, long and wavy, falling down messily over a red, white and black CCR merchandise crop top. His eyes fell to the dark high-waisted jean shorts, following the endless legs until they reached a pair of military style boots, black. Her face was clean, no makeup, just a pair of light grey eyes and slightly red skin due to the fight. He could make out a few freckles on the bridge of her small nose, but they were almost unnoticeable due to the flush.

The girl took a couple steps forwards, getting her stake back in her waistband and held a hand out for him.

"You okay?" Her words came out a bit raspy, still trying to control her breath, while she regarded the man on the floor.

Spike raised an eyebrow. She must have seen his game face, now gone, and she obviously knew about vamps, who else would have a stake on their pants? So, why was she helping him? Was it a trick? Was she waiting for him to stand up to end him?

Wary of her intentions, the neutered vampire accepted her hand and when she pulled him up, he noticed that he was only a few inches taller than her. He immediately stepped back, intently watching her.

When she noticed he wasn't going to answer, she looked around the alley. The other woman had run away at some point during the fight, and they were all alone.

She sighed, glanced back at him for a second and smiled tightly, a tiny curve on her lips.

"Take care of that head. Bye." She waved her hand lightly and walked towards one end of the alley, where he could see a suitcase and a huge duffel bag on the floor. New in town, then?

She took both bags and walked out of the alley, looking back at him once before disappearing on the corner.

Who the hell was she? Should he tell the Scoobies?

Nah, if she stayed, they would probably find out at some point.

* * *

 

The walk from the motel to the store only took about five minutes, but with the heavy paper bag in her arms and the several stops she was making on the way, familiarizing with the streets, she had already wandered for ten minutes when she came to a halt to avoid crashing into someone.

"Sorry." She glanced up at the person, the man, in front of her. She had seen him before. In the alley, a couple days earlier. The vampire who fought vampires. Bleached blond, razor sharp cheekbones, all black clothing, leather and military boots. Kinda hard to miss. She had noticed him pulling a woman away from a group of vamps, and decided that, until she saw him attack humans, he was on the good side. She knew not everything was black and white, heck, she'd lived in the grey area for a while, and knew not all demons were evil. Some were actually good, really good.

Still, he looked familiar. She felt like she had met him before the alley, before she arrived in Sunnydale. But how? Where? When?

"Huh. It's you again." He looked surprised to see her again. He was carrying a similar bag in his arms, the top of a bottle of some kind of liquor sticking out of the bag.

"Yup, me again. Is your head OK?" She tilted hers, looking towards the back of his skull.

His eyebrows furrowed, confused. What the hell was she going on about? Did she know about the chip? "What the bloody hell are you talking about?" It came out worst than he had intended to, but there was not going back.

"Your head. You took a bad hit. I heard it crack the other day. I know that with the vampire healing and all it's not a big deal but still..." She averted her gaze, a bit put off by his tone of voice. Why did he snap like that?

"Oh." His face relaxed and it made him look a lot younger. The girl immediately noticed his change of demeanour. He didn't seem to be annoyed anymore. "Oh, yeah, it's OK."

"Good." She nodded, a bit uncomfortable, a shifted in place, her arms starting to tire from holding the shopping. "Well, I guess... Uhm... Bye." She walked around him, but someone had other plans, as she immediately crashed into another boy in a skate, sending her bag flying and her tumbling backwards. Luckily, an arm caught her before she fell. The boy simply hollered an apology and left in a rush, leaving her groceries lying on the pavement.

She looked over her shoulder, seeing it was the good vampire's hand holding her, and smiled lightly at him. "Thanks." He only nodded while she kneeled to gather her things back into the paper bag.

Soon enough, the man joined her, leaving his bag aside and helping her, yet he almost immediately stopped. He was holding a box of instant baby cereal with a bemused expression, seeing another three identical boxes in the girl's hands.

"Do you have a kid or a day-care centre?" He questioned, glancing up at her. He enjoyed the girl's response, blushing furiously while she picked everything up and shook her head. "Babysitter?" She shook her head again, the redness of her face increasing, again making her freckles less noticeable.

"I really like this stuff..." She took the package from him, trying not to meet his gaze, already seeing him smirk from the corner of her eye. "And it's really convenient." She defended, looking up, seeing his smirk grow.

"Convenient, huh? Sure, love, whatever." He dismissed, flicking his hand and taking his things again.

"It is!" She insisted. "It's not like I can properly cook in the motel room. I only have to pour some water on these and I have a meal. Way better than noodles, if you ask me." She huffed, clutching the bag to her chest.

"I'm not judging you, pet. Everyone has their guilty pleasures." He winked at her, making her blush again. He was thoroughly enjoying this. She was a beautiful girl, and making her react like that made him feel like back in the day, when he was feared and desired.

"I might have a slight addiction." She conceded, shrugging, and smiled back at him. The blush receded, and the freckles popped out again. "It's Ally, by the way."

"What?" He tilted his head, confused at the sudden turn.

"Ally. My name." She explained and looked down at the bag. "I'd hold my hand out but... they're busy." She grinned sheepishly at him, making him unconsciously smile back.

"Spike." Her eyebrows shot up, but didn't comment on it.

"Nice to meet you, Spike. Guess I'll see you around."

She walked past him, smiling one last time, and he watched her leave.

It was nice, being treated like a person for once. It'd been a long time since someone was kind to him. She was already his favourite person on the evil killing side.

Ally. He'd remember that name.

* * *

 

Spike was still at the Bronze, after the troll's attack, the Scoobies had just left to go after it, when he caught a familiar scent in the dust and hormone filled air. He turned around to find Ally walking in, helping people on the way, getting injured ones out from under beams and wooden pieces. He once again noticed she didn't have the strength of a Slayer, so he joined her when she tried to lift a beam to get a teen girl out.

"Hey. What happened?" They faced each other, the teen being tended to by some of her friends.

"Troll."

"You're joking." She scoffed, sending him a disbelieving look. Seeing him dead serious, her face fell. "Troll? Where is it now?"

"He left. But he's being taken care off." Spike shoved his hands on his duster's pockets, looking around to see if someone else needed help and wasn't being taken care of. Wait, what the hell was he doing? He was the Big Bad, he was a vampire. Sure, he killed demons, but that's just because they were the only thing he could beat to a pulp. Bloody chip.

"Oh, well..." She hugged herself, uncertain. She was not used to knowing there was a monster out and not going after it. Letting others take care of it. "It doesn't even seem to really surprise you." She noticed, both walking towards the exit, side by side.

"This is the Hellmouth, pet. There's been werewolves, zombies, all kinds of demons, and even Dracula a few months ago." Her head whipped towards him just as they got out, a cool breeze greeting them.

"You're kidding." Although not as convinced as in their last encounter, she really expected him to say he was. "Huh." She looked forwards, her eyes lost, trying to process the information. "So this is the Hellmouth?"

"Thought you already knew that." He watched her from the corner of his eye, taking it all in. Ally seemed to know where she's going, letting her feet guide her, he simply accompanied her.

"Uh, no, not really. I was just passing by and noticed an awful amount of vampire attacks, be it on the street or by checking obituaries. The death rate here is immense." She murmured, almost as if she was talking to herself.

"Hellmouth." It's a one word explanation, but it's enough.

They walked in silence for a short while, occasionally seeing signs of the troll's path in the form of broken street lights and trash cans. Until, that is, it suddenly started raining, making Spike curse and scowl, getting the girl's attention.

"Shit. Uh, I better run. See you around, Spike!" She took off, sprinting, trying to avoid getting completely wet by sticking close to the buildings.

* * *

So she was in the Hellmouth. Talk about coincidences. It could be a sign, a sign that killing monsters was what she was supposed to do. After all, she had never really wanted to leave, to stop slaying. She had trained so hard... She was never going to have a normal life, she knew that. Still, she had left to give it a try, because she didn't want to disappoint _him_.

Not slaying disappointed her. It felt like throwing away all the time she had spent preparing for this. She was _meant_ to be doing this!

Maybe, she could stay in Sunnydale for some time, do what she did best, and in a few months... She might go back, see how things were.

He was going to be disappointed if he knew she had just been slaying. He had told her to travel, meet new people, try living away from the constant battles. He didn't understand that that was not what she wanted.

She _had to_ help people. She _had to_ fight evil. She couldn't just sit around and do nothing.

Well, the Hellmouth was the perfect place for her then.

Loud chatter took her out of her reverie. She was near a plot filled with trailers, teens coming out of them, walking around with big bags hanging from their backs. What was that place?

She spotted a young girl, around fourteen, sitting near a thin tree, a notebook open on her lap.

"Uh, sorry to interrupt." Ally approached the girl, whose eyes shot up at hearing her voice. "Uh, sorry. What is this place?" She pointed towards the trailers, making the girl turn her head, looking bored.

"High school." She shrugged, focusing on her schoolwork again.

High school? What kind of town had a high school like that?

"It's just temporary." Ally turned around when she heard another girl talk next to her. She was pale for a California town, big blue eyes looking at Ally, long brown hair similar to hers falling down her back. "The actual high school was blown up, so we have to be here while it's rebuilt." She explained, her baby blues fleeting towards the white blocks that served as classrooms in annoyance.

"Well, that sucks." Ally agreed, getting a tiny smile out of the teen.

"Yeah. So, are you a new student?"

"No, no. I'm just new in town. I don't go to high school anymore. I'm Ally." She held her hand out to the teen, thinking about the fact that once again people thought she looked younger that she really was. Yeah, not by much, she was only eighteen, but still...

"I'm Dawn." The girl smiled up at her, shaking her hand vigorously. "Sorry, I have to go to class. It was nice to meet you, though." She waved her hand happily at Ally, making the eldest girl shoot a smile back and wave.

She liked that kid. 

* * *

 

A vampire was thrown over a gravestone, his back crushing against the hard edges before flipping over it. Ally jumped on top of the gravestone, stake in hand, to see the vamp starting to get up. Her chance. She lunged at him, burying the pointy wood in his back, beneath his left shoulder, before he had stood up. The vampire turned to dust underneath her hand, knuckles white from gripping the stake tightly.

"Good fight, pet." She heard, making her lift her eyes to find the bleach blond vampire watching the scene.

"There's still a lot of room for improvement." She shrugged, humbly, noticing he had another paper bag with yet another bottle sticking out of it. It had been almost a week since they last met, at the Bronze, and she had been busy to really go out. She had rented an apartment, moved -which wasn't really that hard since everything she owned was still in her bag or suitcase-, and hadn't gone out to find the evil things lurking around until that night. "What are you doing here with the shopping?" He wouldn't take his groceries when he went patrolling, would he?

"I live here. Well, there." He pointed towards a crypt not far from them, made of grey stone and quite creepy looking.

"Really?" She raised her eyebrows, surprised. Did he really live in the cemetery? In a crypt?

"I'm a vamp, love. What did you expect? I even got a telly, you'll see." His chest puffed and he nodded in the direction of the little 'house', proud of his home.

"Sorry, it's just... I kinda forget you're a vampire sometimes." She tried to hold back a smile, feeling the tug in her lips, but not wanting to offend him.

He glared at her, more like pouted, yet he couldn't really get angry. "Well, don't. I used to be the Big Bad, you know." He stalked towards the entrance and pushed the door open, holding it for her to go in.

"It's hard to really see that when you are such a gentleman." She teased, walking past him and looking around the room. It was a mixture of homely and creepy, what with the tomb and the... well, it was a crypt. Still, the telly, the armchair in front of it and the little fridge on the corner felt welcoming. There was even a blanket on top of the... tomb. Yeah, welcoming. "And they say chivalry is dead."

"Can be evil and a gentleman." He argued, setting his bag down next to the fridge and crouching. She could see bags of blood inside, most probably from some animal, and some cereal on top of the appliance. "Sit down if you want. Turn the telly on. Passions is about to start."

She snorted, making him glare playfully while she did just like he said. Once she sat on the armrest of the chair, he came back with a bottle of whiskey in his hand, offering it to her first.

"No, thanks, I don't really drink alcohol." He sat next to her, legs spread wide.

"Your loss." He shrugged and started drinking straight from the bottle, eyes set on the screen. "So you're done for the night?"

"Guess so. I've been walking around trying to find evil crawlies for a couple hours now." She leaned back, getting more comfortable as the opening music from that cheesy TV show played. "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

She rolled her eyes, catching him glancing at her for a second before taking a gulp of the whisky. "You know what I mean. And you only have to answer if you want to, I won't get offended at anything."

"Like you could make me say anything I didn't want to." He smirked, looking at her with a sense of superiority that made her want to smack him.

"Don't be so sure." She smirked back, then both stared back at the TV. "Can I come here every now and then? I don't really know anyone in this town, and even if I did, with the whole slaying thing... It's a bit difficult to find..."

"Yeah, don't worry. Just knock and don't come too early during the day, my sleeping schedule might be a bit different from yours." He joked although he felt a strange satisfaction at knowing she wanted to spend time with him. "Are you staying then? Taking permanent residence in the Hellmouth?" Tearing his eyes from his favourite show, he looked up at her.

She nodded, hugging her middle area with a relaxed expression. They both had a friend then. Weird mix, a vampire and a wannabe slayer, watching a cheesy TV show in a crypt.

* * *

 

She finally took the time to go for a run during the day, in need of some vigorous exercise to get her mind off negative thoughts. Her life was good right then, she shouldn't dampen her mood by remembering the last few months. Everything turned out right, more or less, and she was in a new town, with a new apartment, a new friend and, overall, a new life. Sure, she missed her old friends, but...

_Everything is going to be OK._

_Everything is going to be OK._

_Everything is going to be OK._

That was her mantra. She kept repeating it, muttering while she ran, trying to replace her old memories with new ones. Like the night with Spike a few days back. They sat, talked a bit, watched TV. It almost felt like they had been friends for a long time.

Her thoughts were brought to a halt, just like her, when she noticed the teen girl walking a few steps ahead of her, backpack on, most likely going back home from high school.

"Dawn?" She called, taking her earbuds out and smiling at the familiar face. The kid immediately smiled back and waited for her to catch up. "I didn't expect to see you. Going home?"

"Yeah, I just got out of school. I thought it was never going to end." Dawn sighed, starting to walk again. "And I have a ton of homework to do."

"It can't be that bad." Ally laughed at the teen, taking slower breaths. "I'm sure there's something you do like about high school." She winked and the girl instantly took the hint.

"Boys." She giggled and blushed lightly,

"See, there's something good." Ally felt very comfortable with the teen. Maybe because she hadn't had teen friends in a while. Hell, years, and it felt good to talk to someone naive. It was refreshing. All her friends had been older than her since she was thirteen.

"You said you don't go to school. Did you drop off or graduate?" The teen crossed the street, the other girl following her, nearing her home.

"Graduate. I actually liked studying. Don't look at me like that." She warned at the look the youngest shot her.

"How old are you?" Dawn frowned, unable to understand how someone can like school, classes, etc. Sure, Willow, but...

"Eighteen. You?"

"Fourteen." The teen suddenly felt intimidated, glancing at her companion from the corner of her eye. "I guess you think I'm just a kid, and all that..." She'd heard that so many times from her sister.

"No, I think you're nice." The other corrected, smiling warmly at the kid. "I don't really know many people here, but you're among my favourites so far."

"Really?" Dawn stopped, holding back a smile, already in front of her house.

"Yeah. See you soon." She waved and started running again, happy to have someone else to build new memories with.


	2. Chapter 2

Buffy stalked through the graveyard, fuming, thinking back on her class that day and the professor that ridiculed her. She was aching for a fight to let some steam off. She needed it, but she hadn't seen one vamp in her whole patrol. Nothing. Where were the bad guys when you needed them?

Her question was answered when she heard a growl not far from her, probably a vamp chasing a victim that was fool enough to stroll through the cemetery at night. When would people learn it was stupid?

She ran in the direction of the growl, her heartbeat getting faster every second, anticipation and adrenaline pumping through her veins. Oh, how she wanted to find it, punch it, kick it, knee it in the gut and, finally, bury her stake in its chest, feeling the creature poof before her eyes.

She stopped at once when she finally saw the vampire, snarling not far from a mausoleum.

And the girl fighting it.

Buffy hid herself behind a gravestone, watching the scene in front of her. The vampire looked furious and jumped towards the girl, who dodged and threw a roundhouse kick to its head. Taking advantage of her opponent stumbling, the girl punched it a few times before it defended itself and kicked the brunette in the gut. She went tumbling backwards, yet when Buffy though she would have to intervene, the teen took out a stake and resumed fighting, landing well-aimed kicks and punches, even a few hits to the vamps face with her elbow. When the creature seemed to be getting dizzy from the beating, the girl plunged her stake in its heart, finishing the job.

When the girl straightened herself, Buffy couldn't help but feel suspicious. Who was she? How had she been able to fight the vamp like... a Slayer? Faith was still alive, as far as she knew. There couldn't have been another one.

So she must be some kind of demon, right? Because normal people didn't fight like that, and Buffy needed a reason to kill something, as _something_ seemed to be killing her vamps for her.

* * *

The Slayer found her friends at the Magic Box the next day, her sister trailing behind her as per her mom's request. Miss Summers still had to rest, and her daughters would do anything to help her recover.

Even put up with each other for the day.

Buffy strode forwards, looking for her Watcher and finding him organizing strange crystal balls in a shelf.

"There's something new in town." She announced, careful not to be heard by the only customer, paying by the cash register with Anya smiling awkwardly at him.

This caught the watcher's attention, and apparently her little sister's too, since she turned from looking at little creepy statues, to staring at her. The watcher gestured to wait until the customer was out of the store for the Scooby Gang to gather around the table, taking their sits for the most part, except for Giles and Buffy.

"What is it? Something you found during last night's patrol?" He took his glasses and started wiping them in a true Giles fashion, while the rest of the gang waited for Buffy to disclose more information.

"Yes." She started pacing in front of them, face set in an all-business expression until she noticed Spike coming from the back room. "What are you doing here?"

"I was bored." He shrugged, casually leaning against a bookshelf. "You say there's a new Big Bad in town? Other than the Beast or whatever?"

"Yes." She answered sharply, glaring at the vampire. "I was patrolling last night. There were no vampires out. Nothing. Zip. And then I heard one. But it was fighting someone else." This got Spike's attention, not liking where the Slayer was headed. "I don't know what she is, but she fought like a Slayer. But there can be another Slayer, right? Faith is alive, I am alive!" She turned towards her Watcher, waiting for answers. "She must be a demon or a vampire. Maybe she's here for the Key, too. We have to find out what she is." She was nervous, everyone could see it. She was terrified of this new threat finding out what the Key was. She couldn't let that happen.

"It's just Ally." The bleach blonde intervened before the Slayer took an axe and went to out to kill his new friend. Suddenly, all eyes were on him, even the big blues of the kid.

"Oh, I know an Ally. She's new here." Dawn added nonchalantly, inspecting her nails. "She's nice."

The room could well get mistaken for a tennis match, what will all the heads whipping from one side to the other. The vampire was surprised no one got whiplash. Still, he raised an eyebrow at the Nibblet.

"You know her?"

"Yeah, I met her a couple of weeks ago." The teen missed her sister's terrified expression and the look she shared with her Watcher. Little did Dawn know she was only making them believe Ally was after the Key.

"The point is, how do _you_ know her?" Xander asked, pointing his finger at the neutered vampire.

"Ran into her a couple times. She's a better Slayer even without the Slayer powers. Should've seen her last week. She took down three by herself, without a stake. She used a bloody tree branch." He scoffed, leaning back against the wall, staring at Buffy.

"Then why are you even alive?" The founder of the ‘we-hate-Spike’ team fully turned towards him, ever irritated by the vamps presence.

"She knows I don't kill humans."

"Does she know _why_ you don't kill humans? Or did you skip that part?" The dark haired man's daring tone only got Spike riled up, making him stalk forwards.

"It's enough, Xander." Giles cut in before both started bickering like children, as always. "What do you know about her, Spike?"

The vampire took a deep unnecessary breath, averting his eyes from the group clown and looking at the old man.

"Her name's Ally. She got here around three weeks ago, rented an apartment. She patrols several days a week."

"No last name? What do you know about her past? Why did she come here?" The Watcher turned the meeting into a full blown interrogation, which was not what Spike was looking for. He felt uncomfortable, noticeable by the scowl in his face and his tense stance.

"Only know she was passing by and stayed because there's lots of, like she calls ‘em, 'evil crawlies'. She didn't even know this was the Hellmouth, but she does know quite a bit about vamps and demons." He thought back on the times they had hanged out in his crypt, or patrolled the cemetery. She never talked about what she did before she got there. Was she really trouble? He couldn't believe that. She was anything but. Not that he’d do anything if she was trouble. Probably would welcome her to the team.

"So you know nothing about her. No full name, age, nothing about where she's from, where she learnt to fight." Buffy snapped, more and more convinced that the girl was no good. She had to stop her.

"She's eighteen." Dawn stepped in, refusing to think her new 'friend' was evil.

"You have to admit this is a bit suspicious" Giles walked around the table, coming closer to the vampire. ", but" He shot a sharp look at his protégée as a warning not to interrupt him. "immediately assuming she's a demon is not the way. There's people out there who know about vampires, demons, and actually go after them. Of course, the Slayer has an immense advantage over them, but it doesn't mean they can't perform the duties of a Slayer with a certain proficiency, specially if they undergo an intense training regime. A lot of Potentials are brought up this way. She could be one of them."

"Then where's her Watcher? Why hasn't she contacted you or us?" Buffy crossed her arms over her chest, rigid, glancing at Dawn every now and then. If the girl was after the Key, why hadn't she taken Dawn yet?

"That, we will have to look into."

* * *

The Scooby Gang gathered in the Magic Box right after closing time, Willow and Tara sprinkling colourful dust over a huge cup filled with water, crystals set around it, low candles forming a circle surrounding them all.

"Is it ready?" Buffy asked, approaching the witches, stiff as a wooden board.

"Relax, Buffy." Giles advised, wiping his glasses while trying to ignore Anya talking to Xander about something that should be reserved for their alone time. "We haven't come up with anything that should make you believe this... Ally is evil. This is just a... a safety measure."

"Well, that's putting it nicely, Rupert." Everyone jumped out of their skin when Spike arrived through the back door, glaring at the Slayer as per usual. "You're literally gonna stalk the girl and to hell with her privacy." He scolded, making the witches look down.

"Keeping Da... the safety of this town is more important than her privacy." Snapped the blonde, shaking herself for almost saying her sister's name. Only Giles and her knew. She certainly wouldn't let Spike know, no matter how many times they'd worked together. "And since when do you give lessons of morality? How do you know what we're going to do?"

"The Little Bit told me, she heard you planning it. Just thought you ought to remember you're supposed to be the good ones." He shot back, turning to face the witches.

"It's ready." The redhead announced, trying to stop the argument. Buffy could easily resort to violence and she wanted to avoid any possible damage to the spell.

Everyone got close to the table, including the vampire –under the excuse that whatever they were going to find out, he should know too, as Ally was his friend–, where Tara started chanting, followed by her girlfriend, while the rest leaned over the cup, watching the surface start to form waves, then colours explode like fireworks. By the time the chanting stopped, the surface was shining, a white light making them all squint, before dimming and showing the inside of an apartment.

The apartment seemed to be quite new, with while walls and shiny wooden floors. One big cream coloured rug covered part of the floor, set in front of a white couch with several colourful pillows and a silver coloured laptop on top. A light wooden coffee table held a few books near the couch, not far from two huge bookshelves covering a wall.

Behind the couch was the kitchen, an island separating the living room area from the counters and appliances. Every single piece of furniture was either white, light wood or silver, making the room look bigger than it was.

And there, in the middle of the kitchen, was a girl in a big black t-shirt that barely reached her thighs and let them catch glimpses of pink underwear. Her hair was let loose and long, a rich brown colour similar to Dawn's, bouncing around when the girl shook her head, her back to them.

When the cup and crystal started trembling and ringing, letting them listen to what was going on in the apartment, they realized she was dancing.

They all recognized _Old time Rock and Roll_ , Spike even snorting at the song, but no one said a word.

When Ally turned, they saw she was holding a bowl of salad and potatoes, making her way to the couch. She let herself plop down on the white seat, but winced, making the spectators inch closer. She left the bowl of food on the side and carefully lifted the t-shirt, revealing a big purple bruise on her side, near her hip.

"See. Human." Spike recalled, shooting a death glare at the Slayer.

"Shut up." She hissed, eyes fixed on the cup.

The girl had gotten up from the couch and taken a bottle from a cupboard with some cotton. The bottle contained a clear liquid that soon Tara recognized as alcohol, probably with rosemary, a useful ingredient for bruises.

Ally pressed the cotton to her side, flinching at the coldness, before putting the bottle back in the cupboard and sitting on the couch again, this time more carefully.

She proceeded to have dinner while using her laptop, where a document with a long text made the Slayer exchange a look with her Watcher.

But the girl seemed completely at ease, erasing and rewriting paragraphs, occasionally reaching for a book from the coffee table titled _Dead Men Do Tell Tales: The Strange and Fascinating Cases of a Forensic Anthropologist_. Everyone looked at Giles then, hearing him sigh and shake his head.

"She's not writing some evil spell or ritual or anything like that. She's writing a book, probably some kind of fiction, or researching on signs of different causes of death. A really practical skill for a Potential or a Slayer, truly, I did go to a few seminars on the subject years ago, in London." He explained, reaching for his glasses but deciding against taking them off yet.

"So what? She's just an amateur writer?" Buffy wasn't going to let the girl get off the hook so easily. There was something about her she didn't like, and she was going to find out what. "And the fighting skills? The knowledge?"

"Buffy, you need to understand that there's more than one way into this life. The girl seems to be perfectly normal. We have no reason to believe she's a threat and, honestly, we would be better off researching about Glory, this... Beast." Giles' intention was to calm Buffy down but seeing everyone agree with the Watcher, seeing Spike's smirk, it made her furious. There was something more going on, and she was going to find out what.

Thinking the spying was over, Willow tried to finish the spell, turn the water back to normal. Instead, it started shining again, way more brightly than before, a screeching sound joining it, until the cup blew up, soaking them all. But nobody commented on the water, as they were all lying on the floor, knocked out.

* * *

"Hey, Spi... Whoa." Ally stopped as soon as she stepped into the crypt, seeing three people more that she expected in front of her friend. One of them was holding a crossbow aimed at the vampire, another one had a crucifix raised and the last one, the only woman, was taking notes on a pad. All of them were wearing suits, very professional looking, except if you hunted vampires.

When they heard her, the one with the crossbow pointed at her, making Spike take a step forward.

"Careful with that, mate, she's not a vamp." He warned, making the man face him again.

The woman, though, looked at her, cowering between the other two. They were all trembling with fear, which was both amusing and sad.

"What are you?" The woman asked in a clipped voice, trying to sound way braver than she looked.

"Well, that's a rude way of starting a conversation." The girl fully entered the crypt, closing the door behind her, the three suited humans stepping aside to be able to watch the vamp and the new girl. "What's going on? Are they... from the police department or something like that?" She asked her friend, standing next to him and assessing the visitors. "Did you steal something?"

"I always steal things, but that's not what they're here for, love." Spike crossed his arms over his chest, looking back at the tiny group. "They are here to interview me."

"Huh, really? And what's with the crossbow? Doesn't look very friendly."

"We're from the Watcher's Council." The woman spoke up, clearing her throat when she almost croaked. "We will need you to identify yourself, Miss."

"Ally Finn." She answered briefly, glaring at the man with the crossbow. "Care to point that somewhere else? Your hands are trembling, you might hit the trigger unintentionally."

"Worried about me, pet?" Spike teased, nudging her with his elbow and making her roll her eyes.

"Miss Finn, we're here to interview Mr. Spike on his relationship with the Slayer. Are you acquainted with her?"

"There's a Slayer here?" The young girl's eyes shot back up to the vampire, surprised, widening when he nodded.

"So you don't know her." The woman muttered something to herself while writing down on her pad. "What is your relationship with Mr. Spike? Are you two involved romantically? Are you acquainted with any other of the Slayer's friends?"

Both of the interviewees shared the same quizzical expression at the woman's questions, briefly exchanging a look, before looking back at the visitors.

"We're friends." The girl snapped, making the woman lower her gaze while taking notes, avoiding her eyes. "And I don't know any of... the people you refer too."

"Are you aware of your friend's... condition?" She questioned without looking at them.

"You mean vampire? Yeah, and even if I didn't, your little... safety measures would give it away."

"So you are human, you know a vampire that usually works with the Slayer and her group but you don't know the Slayer?" The librarian looking woman dared catch her eyes for a second before focusing on her notes again.

"Exactly. I'm new in town." Ally narrowed her eyes, glaring at the two men and making Spike smirk at the air of authority she displayed. It was quite a sight, to be honest.

* * *

The Watcher's Council ended up letting Ally relax, sitting on top of the tomb while Spike finished his interview, even though she still sent death glares at the man with the crossbow. The young girl caught bits of information about the Slayer and her friends, who Spike called the Scooby Gang, wondering what she would be like.

Slayers were legends. Heroes. One girl in every generation. She was quite eager to meet this one.

* * *

"The Slayer doesn't like you, love." Spike told her, the night the Council interviewed them, a couple hours after they left. They were both sitting on the armchair, Ally on the armrest, watching TV and eating some snacks. For Ally, it was apple purée, for Spike, a mug of pig's blood.

"Why is that? She doesn't even know me." She frowned, setting her jar on her thigh to look at the vampire.

"She saw you slaying the other night. She thinks you are a demon or something like that. Won't even listen to anyone. Think it pissed her off that you could do her job without the powers, she's territorial." He smirked and she could detect a hint of pride in his voice. Was he proud of her? It made her cheeks get warm and rosy.

"Should I talk to her?" She shifted, her arm brushing against the bleach blond, slightly leaning against him.

"I'd avoid her like the pest, if I were you. Goldilocks has a problem controlling her temper." He wouldn't say it out loud, but he was glad Ally felt safe with him. He was turning quite protective of her, thinking back to his reactions when the Slayer got anywhere close to threatening her. Maybe it was because he was lonely, what with killing demons and vampires, while the humans treated him like filth.

"But... is she going to try to kill me or something?"

"Not yet, at least. They have bigger things to worry about. Some kind of big demon looking for something the Slayer has. That's what the Council is here for. They have info on the demon, but they won't give it to Little Miss Tiny until she passes their... test." He took a gulp of his blood, almost done with the mug, and glanced at his friend. "I think she's the only one who wants you out so I wouldn't worry too much."

"Thanks for the heads up, anyways." She smiled at him, happy to have him around.

* * *

She had fallen asleep watching _Passions_. Honestly, Spike thought that was an outrage, but had let her sleep, moving her to the seat when the show was over, knowing that her back would hurt like hell if he put her on top of the tomb. Humans were just not meant to sleep there. He was OK there, though.

And that's where he was when he was woken up by the door opening and letting the sun in, screaming and jumping to his feet to find the Slayer in front of him. Ally stood up from the armchair, pulling a stake out in the blink of an eye at his yelling. There was a blonde girl standing in front of him, almost hidden beneath a heavy cream coloured coat.

"Oh, it's the Slayer. For a second there I was worried." Rubbing the sleep out of them, his eyes moved to Ally to make sure she was fine, and found the other two Summers women standing on the door. "So, what's with the family outing?"

At this, Ally looked at the door to see her new young friend next to a blonde woman, both looking quite uncomfortable. "Dawn?" She was related to the Slayer? What was going on?

"Hey, Ally." The teen managed to smile lightly at her, her eyes fleeting back to the vampire and the young woman next to the tomb.

"I need your help." Buffy said quietly, trying to have a somewhat private conversation.

"Great. I need your cash." He replied in a carefree way, only to be cut by the blonde girl.

"I'm serious. You have to look after them." By this point, Ally was sure something really bad was happening. If the Slayer thought she was a threat, yet didn't even look at her or care about her at the moment, it surely meant something was wrong. Like, ask-a-vampire-to-look-after-your-family wrong.

"Well, that's a boatload of manly responsibility to come flying out of nowhere. What's the matter, Slayer? You're not feeling a hundred percent?" He mocked, making Ally want to smack him. He did that quite a lot, actually.

"No."

"They didn't put a chip in your head, did they?" Chip? Where the hell was that coming from? Ally knew there was more to it than she knew, yet she let it slide at the moment.

"No!"

"Be funny if they did." He continued teasing, almost like he was asking for a kick in the gut.

"Spike." She called to him, shooting him a serious look to make sure he paid attention. "Listen to her. Something's wrong." Buffy glanced at her for a second before focusing back on the vampire.

"Spike, I need an answer. Now. In or out?" She paused and her voice dropped down a notch. "You're the only one strong enough to protect them."

Ally was sure now. Something terrible had happened. Something was after them. Something was after _Dawn_. Her friend. She put her stake back on the waistband of her jeans and shot the teen a reassuring smile. She wouldn't let anything happen to her.

"All right then." Spike gave in, Ally holding back a smile. He definitely wasn't evil. No matter how much he insisted he was. Big softie. "Ladies..." He walked towards the front door, where the women stood, Buffy following him. "Come on in. There's plenty of blood in the fridge."

Both women got further into the crypt, Dawn approaching her friend instantly while glancing at the fridge. "Do you mean like, real blood?" Her face scrunched up and Ally tried not to laugh. Oh, dear, the kid was so naive.

"What do you think?" Spike replied, not six feet away from them.

"Mostly, I think 'eww'." The wannabe slayer outright laughed at this, covering her mouth with her hand while leaning against the wall, soon joined by the teen.

Buffy, meanwhile, was telling her mom to stay there with Dawn, that she would be back soon, before turning her head towards the new girl, way too close to her sister to feel safe.

"If someone finds out they're here, I'll assumed it was you, and I'll hunt you down." She threatened, making Dawn tense next to them, shouting 'hey!' at her sister.

"What's your problem with me, Slayer? We hadn't even met before now. You don't know me so you assume I'm a demon? I fight the same things you do. I just do it with less equipment and more bruises." She defended herself, standing straight and crossing her arms over her chest, towering over the Slayer, a good five inches shorter than her. "If something is after them, I'll help you. I won't let anything hurt her." She gestured towards Dawn with her head, holding the blondie's stare.

"You better." She hissed before turning around and leaving.

Both young girls sighed when the Slayer was out of sight, Ally turning to look at the brunette warmly.

"Uh... Sorry for... my daughter's attitude, I'm Joyce Summers." The other woman approached her, holding her hand out for her.

"Ally Finn. Pleased to meet you. So you're Dawn's mom, huh? You have a lovely daughter." She smiled, shaking the woman's hand. She was definitely a mother, she had that warm look, even when they were hiding in a vampire's crypt.

"Yeah, at least one of them." Dawn quipped before leaving to sit on top of the tomb.

"I... Are you... Are you two...?" She looked from Spike to her several times, but the vampire was oblivious, occupied with turning his dear telly on. "Are you two together?"

"No! No, no. We're friends. I just... fell asleep here last night and... yeah, I just woke up, in case it wasn't obvious." Ally smiled sheepishly, moving her hand through her hair to try to tame it a bit.

"You fell asleep during _Passions_. I still can't believe you did that. I was this far from throwing you out for the 'evil crawlies' to eat you for that." Spike growled, shooting her a playful glare and making her huff.

" _Passions_? Oh, do you think Timmy's really dead?" The woman immediately inched closer to the armchair, lost in the conversation even before it started.

Ally left them to argue about the characters of the cheesy soap opera to go back to Dawn, sitting cross-legged on top of the tomb with a notebook on top of her legs and an addled expression.

"Homework?" She sat next to the teen, looking at the notebook over her shoulder and seeing her nod. "Need some help?"

"Please." She whined, battling her eyelashes at her pleadingly.

* * *

It was a nice day out, sun was shining, birds were singing and the youngest Summers girl was walking straight towards the Magic Box, getting a shortcut through the park, so that Buffy did not worry too much for her. It was tiring, really, knowing everyone treated her as helpless, clueless little Dawn. She wanted to be treated like an equal, not a three-year-old. Was it that much to ask? She wanted them to listen to her, really listen to what she had to say. She could help if they let her.

But it was always the same: 'Maybe when you're older'.

And the only person that treated her like an equal, like a real person, was... right there.

She was just looking around, watching the kids on the playground, the parents and nannies on the benches and a few people sitting under the shade of the trees. And one of them was Ally.

The older brunette seemed to be engrossed in a book, one that immediately repelled the youngest one as she approached: _A Brief History of Time._ Really, a science book? But then she remembered that Ally actually liked to study, god knows why, and she had even been excited when she had helped finish her homework at Spike's place.

"Hey." Dawn sat next to the other girl, who looked up and smiled at her. That's another thing she liked about Ally. She was always happy to see her. It was not the compulsory smile for her best friend's little sister, it was an actual friend's smile, just because she liked her.

"Hi Dawnie. What's up?" She closed the book, focusing her attention fully on the teen.

"Not much. I was going to the Magic Box to do my homework. Buffy always wants me under control, somewhere they can watch me," The young girl rolled her eyes, leaning back against the tree and aiming her big blues at her. "but, pretty pretty please, I have to write a stupid essay for biology class and..." She bit her lip, letting her puppy eyes to the rest of the job. "Could you help me?"

"You need to go to the Magic Box, your sister will be worried if you don't get there soon." Ally had to admit that saying no to Dawn was very difficult. She knew what the kid was doing, she had done that same thing plenty of times over the years, but still. "Know what, why don't I go there with you, I can meet more of the Scooby Gang or whatever and try to convince them I'm not a demon? I mean, coming during the day will rule out vampire, right? Even some demons." The teen eagerly nodded, standing up quickly and waiting for her friend to pack her books before resuming her previous path.

* * *

They stopped in front of the magic shop, near a couple girls, one redhead and one brunette drawing a strange pattern on the pavement with colourful dusts. If she didn't know better, Ally would think they were just playing, but she knew it was a spell.

"You guys doin' a spell?" Dawn looked at the weird shapes, unaware of the witches staring nervously at the new girl. Their silence made her gaze at her two magical friends, noticing their slight anxiety. "Oh, this is Ally. But you already know that. Ally, these are Willow and Tara. They are witches."

"Kinda had that figured out already." She shot a friendly smile at the couple, not wanting to have more people scared of her. "Hi. Nice to meet you."

"Same here." Willow's hand shot up on its own accord, another sign of the witch's agitation. "Uh, y-yeah, we're doing an early warning incantation. If anything hellgodishly powerful comes within a hundred feet of the shop, then screechy siren things will, you know, screech." Her eyes moved from the teen to Ally, not sure of how much she could disclose.

"She knows. Don't worry." The young Summers assured, standing by her friend so she felt less awkward.

"This should give us a heads-up so we can hide ... the, um, key." Tara explained, giving the supposed Potential a friendly look.

"We already put one up around your house." Willow added for extra reassurance.

"Cool." Dawn gestured at the building while glancing at Ally so they walked inside, leaving the witches to their witchy-things.

Aside from a few customers, there were two young adults near a round table, and Dawn headed straight toward them. She quickly introduced her friend to the couple, getting similar reactions as with the witches: nervous looks and a jittery attitude.

"We on the case?" The youngest asked, looking at the books littering the table.

"Yeah. Right on top, perched, ready for action." Ally couldn't help but notice that the woman looked extra uncomfortable while dusting the objects in a crystal shelf, yet she didn't comment on it. "How's my sweet fancy Dawn doing?"

Xander reached over to tickle Dawn's stomach, making her giggle and try to fight him off, while Ally watched, amused.

"Fine. What's up with you?" She asked, making him abruptly look up. "Did you get into the sugar again?"

Anya suddenly turned, putting on an extremely fake and cheerful face. "You make a very pretty little girl!" Well, if that wasn't weird...

Xander jumped up from his seat, putting an arm around his girlfriend. "Anya, you wanna help me with that thing?" They were terrible actors, their false excuses making Ally frown. What was going on? Was that normal?

"Xander needs help with his thing!" Anya agreed, just further confirming Ally's theory that they were into something. Dawn's expression basically reinforced her opinion.

The young teen looked at her and her face fell once the couple was behind her. Ally just wanted to take her out of there and have some fun together.

Voices coming from the back of the store gained her attention, though, looking over just in time to notice the old man and Buffy going into the shop. "I'm not sure our regular workout is ... challenging you any more. Perhaps we should make it harder." The old man was saying, unaware of the presence of the already renowned Potential in his store until Dawn cleared her throat. "Oh. You must be A-Ally. I'm... Rupert Giles, Buffy's Watcher." He softly smiled at her, nothing like the rejection the Slayer had shown in their first meeting. "Uh... Pleased to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." She glanced at Buffy, behind the man, and nodded in her direction. "Hey."

The Slayer responded in the same manner, clutching her bottle of water firmly.

"Uhm, we thought it would be good for her to meet the Gang, you know, with her skills and all..." Dawn explained, burying her hands in her pockets. "She is going to help me with my homework, too. I... uh... We better get to it."

"Yes, of course. You-you should start you homework right away." He agreed, moving the little notebook in his hands to point at the table. "I... I would love to talk to you later, though, if-if that's okay with you, Ally."

"Sure." She smiled widely at him before joining Dawn at the table, Watcher and Slayer going to the other side of the counter to talk.

Even though she didn't say a thing, Ally saw Dawn following the Watcher with her eyes for a few moments, taking her things out of her bag very slowly.

She would have to talk to her some other time, when they were alone.

* * *

Ally stayed in the Magic Box well into the evening, chatting with Giles after helping Dawn do her homework. The man was very nice, a fatherly kind of vibe to him, and definitely a scholar. He had an old book air to him, and she would swear he even smelled a bit like old books. The Watcher was very curious about her, her life and her training. She didn't feel very comfortable talking about the past, and merely informed them that she had left L.A., her previous residence, after breaking up with her boyfriend. She did tell them that she had been interested in martial arts from an early age and had been taught how to use a few weapons in her early teens, thus making her training later easier. Ally wouldn't talk about the specifics of who trained her or who taught her about vampires and demons, only letting them know that she had known of their existence since she was around fifteen, and she soon after started an intense regime to prepare herself to fight them.

They ended up having a passionate discussion about Brachen demons. The Watcher noticed her eyes got watery a few times, but she never let that stop her. He could only imagine that she had been close to one sometime before coming to Sunnydale.

The Gang had approached them during their conversation, the witches even sitting on the table next to them to listen, without intervening once, thoroughly interested in the exchange.

Once it was time to go home, Ally hugged Dawn and bid goodbye to the rest of them, knowing they trusted her a bit more than before. Buffy had stopped threatening her after she picked up her mom and sister from Spike's place, but she was still wary of her.

All in good time.


	3. Chapter 3

Spike really thought she wasn't going to turn up that evening. He hadn't seen her since the babysitting session with the Summers women, and it was starting to bother him. Where was she? Had something happened to her? He had been thinking about those things for way too long, feeling like a mother hen, pacing the crypt before deciding to sit and calm himself down.

She would be OK. It wasn't like she had told him she would come. Ally just dropped by when she felt like it and stayed however long she wanted. Maybe she had simply made new friends. Maybe she had plans with them.

Then why did he feel a jab in his undead heart every time he thought of her hanging out with others?

_Because she will forget you as soon as she has normal friends._

That little voice in the back of his head had been teasing him all day. He knew. He knew she would rather have normal friends. She kept visiting him because she didn't know many other people. She didn't have anyone else to go to. But she had been in Sunnydale for a month so far, and that would soon change, if it hadn't already.

And he would be alone again, outcast by demons and humans, the Scooby Gang's extra arm when they needed help and there was no one else to go to. Because he was just everyone's last resort.

And he hated it.

He jumped to his feet at the sound of someone knocking on the door. It was her. Nobody else knocked, they just came barging in, broke his door, not caring about the fact that it was his home.

"Come in." He called out, sitting back down, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. She was back.

"Hi, Spike. Sorry I'm late, I had to buy something and... You know." She was just as always, a cheery smile on her face, her eyes shining even in the darkness of the crypt. She was carrying a box under her arm, covered in gift-wrap and with a bright red bow on top.

"You going to the Slayer's birthday party, pet?" He frowned, thinking back on when Goldilocks came to pick her family up. She didn't try to kill or threaten Ally, but she was certainly not friendly either. He couldn't understand why she would give her a present.

"Uh, no. Actually, I was hoping you could give her the present. I don't think she would like to see me right now, it would kinda ruin her day, but you... I know you two don't really like each other..."

"Understatement." He interrupted, giving her a dry look.

" _but_ it would still be better than me turning up at her house. Please." She sat on the armchair, leaning against him and giving him her best puppy eyes, making his resolve crumble. "I really want to be on good terms with her. Please." She insisted, brushing her arm and leg against him.

He couldn't even hold her gaze, those sad eyes sparking in him the need to do whatever she asked for.

Bugger.

"Leave it there and I'll think about it." He muttered, low enough for her to think he was still reluctant.

"You're the best." A full blown smile appeared in her face, her arm draping across the back of the armchair, her hand resting near Spike's head. Just a bit closer.

* * *

Ally was asleep when they called. She hurriedly dragged herself to the edge of her bed to reach the telephone, only knowing one person who had her number, and if she was calling this late at night, it had to be something big. Big and bad.

"Dawn?" She asked, worry lacing her voice.

"No, it's Willow. Buffy found your number on a paper on Dawn's nightstand. I-I take it she's not there with you?" Her voice was trembling, reaching Ally in a wave of fear and concern.

"No, she didn't come here. What happened?" She sat up in bed, holding the phone tightly to her ear, her free hand gripping the sheets, ready to tear them.

"She ran away. She-she's not okay. Some things came up and she's feeling very vulnerable. We are just about to go out to search the town for her."

"I'll go too, tell me where to meet you." Ally scrambled out of bed, dressing up with the first things she could grasp while listening to Willow simply say 'The Magic Box'. "I'll be right there."

* * *

Everyone was there, even Spike, and everyone was worried out of their minds. Ally knew there was something about the whole Dawn ordeal they weren't telling her, but that was not the moment to demand answers. Dawn could be in danger. They had to get out there.

Buffy went into full leader mode once they were all gathered, splitting the group into smaller groups and giving them a role. The young brunette was assigned in her group, along with Spike, to sweep the east side of Sunnydale.

The Slayer, the vampire and the Potential were walking across a park -oh, dear, it sounds like a bad joke- and the former just kept calling out for her sister, with the other two flanking her.

"Dawn! Dawn!"

"Yeah, that should do it." The vampire's voice was dripping sarcasm. Heck, didn't he know it was not the time?

"Shut up." Both women chastised him, trying to ignore him as much as possible.

"The Nibblet scampered off to get away from you. She hears you bellowing, she's gonna pack it in the opposite direction." They all stopped in their tracks, seeing Buffy look down with a heartbroken expression. "Can't say I blame her."

"Spike!" Ally scolded. She really wanted to punch him right them, she was beginning to understand why the Slayer seemed to do it often. But then again, he was her friend, and that was just part of his personality. And there was some truth to it. Couldn't he just be more considerate? Well, he didn't like Buffy, maybe that's why...

"You were right." Buffy's voice was quiet, her gaze on the ground like a lost puppy. Spike, on the other hand, looked at her in bewilderment. "This is my fault. I should have told her."

Ally shot him a sharp look, gesturing towards the Slayer with her head. She was in pain, and he had to say something. "Look, she probably would have skipped off anyway, even if she never found out." He tried to comfort her, even if it went against everything he stood for. Comforting the Slayer, ew, it made his skin crawl. But Ally wouldn't have it any other way.

"'Found out?' I'm missing something here, aren't I?" The brunette intervened, restless. She knew something had made Dawn leave. Something everyone but her knew. Hell, she was sure they didn't trust her still, but she was there, wasn't she? She was trying to help find Dawn, and her main priority was the kid. She needed to know what was going on so she could help.

Buffy avoided looking at her, so Ally turned to Spike. He looked uncomfortable, she knew he was hiding something from her. But it was not his story to tell. Still, he couldn't just leave her in the dark.

"Slayer, she's here for Dawn. The Little Bit is going to tell her anyways, better do it yourself." The vampire walked around the blonde to stand next to his friend.

The Chosen One looked up, staring into the Potential's eyes with a fire that made her really look like a legendary hero. "You have to promise to keep the secret until the day you die. No one outside the Gang and Spike can know. Absolutely no one. Dawn's safety is at stake." Her voice was sharp, fear lingering behind every word. She was the Slayer, but she was also a terrified big sister.

"I will. I promise." She tensed up in anticipation. Dawn's safety was at stake. She wouldn't let anything happen to the teen.

Buffy looked at the vampire for a split moment, took a deep breath and made sure no one was around to hear them. "Dawn is special. She... she is more than just my little sister. She is the Key to some kind of demonic portal. She was created by some monks to keep the Key from Glory."

"The demon I told you about. Except she's not a demon." Spike clarified, taking in the varying expressions in the brunettes face.

"She's a hell god." Buffy added, not even trying to make it easier for the Potential. "And she's trying to find the Key. She doesn't know it's Dawn. Dawn... Dawn just found out. The monks made a spell to modify our memories so that we thought Dawn had always been there, that she had had a normal life. She was sent here six months ago." The blonde's voice was trembling by that point, emotion seeping into it. They were right to be scared. Ally was petrified by fear.

"And now she's ran away. She's not just a blob of energy, she's also a fourteen-year-old hormone bomb." Spike sighed, not taking his eyes from Ally, waiting for her to react. "Which one's screwing her up more right now, spin the bloody wheel."

"She's a fourteen year scared out of her mind, thinking she's not real." Ally whispered, eyes glistening with tears. Oh, Dawn, how much she was suffering right then. "We have to find her."

"We'll find her." Spike assured them both, placing a hand on the Potential's shoulder and squeezing.

"And then what?" Buffy asked quietly.

* * *

Sometime later that night, searching around the graveyard, the trio was joined by Willow and Tara, with no news of the teenager. Ally was trying to wrap her mind around the fact that her new, normal, naive friend was a blob of energy who could be used to open the door to a hell dimension, so she had been quiet for a while, which made Spike worry even more.

Xander and Giles appeared not a minute later, but no dice, so they all decided to check the hospital, in case anything else had happened to the kid, not just a hell god finding her.

Oh, shit, a hell god. And yet, she could say it was not the strangest thing to happen to her.

_What kind of fucked up life am I living?_ She asked herself, only for another part of her mind to answer. _You chose this. You could have gotten out, do what_ he _told you, but this is where you belong. Fucked up is everything you have._

In what for Ally felt like a heartbeat, they were standing at the hospital's emergency room, Ally with her arms wrapped around her middle, looking around in hopes of catching a glimpse of the blue eyed kid.

But again, Buffy shattered her dreams by announcing she wasn't brought in. Well, at least it meant she wasn't hurt, right? Or just that no one had seen her, even if she was. Xander voiced her thoughts, only for Buffy to reflect the second part of them.

Until they heard a doctor passing by with a few security guards after him. "... found him on the floor in the break room. You guys gotta see him. His head's almost twisted clean off."

That sounded like hell god stuff. Shit.

"Glory."

* * *

A few minutes later, they all broke into a x-ray lab, where a pretty blonde in a red dress was standing right in front of the teen.

"Get away from my sister." Buffy ordered, tension tangible in the air the moment she looked at the hell god.

"Hey, we were just talking about you." Glory replied, looking completely insane with her cheery voice in such a grave situation.

Dawn took the chance to get away from the god, joining the Gang behind the Slayer, almost hugging Ally when she saw her. The elder brunette put the kid behind her, an arm in front of her to try to keep her away from the evil blonde.

"Conversation's over, hell-bitch." Buffy snapped unequivocally, jumping straight into a fight with said bitch.

Spike, who had taken another way to try to find Dawn, entered the room from another door, just to witness the combat between the two blonde women. When Buffy received a hard punch, throwing her off-balance, Spike stepped in and wrapped his arms around Glory to give Buffy some leverage. "I thought you said this skank was tough!" He exclaimed, only to be thrown aside with ease and receive a beating from the skank, ending up with him flying across the room, knocked out.

"Spike!" Ally screamed, debating between staying with Dawn and helping her vampire friend. "Stay behind Giles." She whispered to the teen before scurrying off to the bleach blond lying on the floor among medical supplies.

Ally didn't hear the conversation between the Slayer and the god, checking over the man that had kept her company for a month, her first friend in her new life. She sighed in relief when she remembered he would recover, as he hadn't been set on fire, beheaded or staked. He would be OK.

Buffy and Glory had gotten into the fight again, only for the former to shout "Giles, now!" before the Watcher shot a crossbow at the god, not even making a hole in her dress, and Xander sneaked behind her to hit her with a crowbar. Glory seemed surprised by this, but she only gave him a second before grabbing him with his crowbar against his throat, then hurling him against the Watcher, leaving both men slumped on the hospital floor.

Dawn had hidden behind a trash can of sorts, and Ally could find her thanks to the small shrieking that came from there. Willow and Tara were chanting, holding small pouches on their hands, trying to remain calm to not fuck their spell up.

"Time to start the dyin'." Glory declared, point the crowbar around the room. "Start with the whelp!" She decided and shot the metal piece like a spear.

Ally saw red. She launched herself towards her friend, adrenaline giving her a boost. "Dawn!" They had been worried sick all night, looking for her; she was not going to let that all go to waste by letting the bitch kill her. Not Dawn. They would have to go through her to get to the teen.

At first she didn't even feel the pain on her shoulder, adrenaline numbing her senses, but, a split second later, she heard Dawn scream for her.

"Get back!" Ally commanded, seeing Buffy join her sister at the eldest brunette’s side, any kind of animosity for the new wannabe Slayer disappearing.

Taking advantage of the lack of pain, Ally took the crowbar out of her shoulder, while Glory took a few steps towards them. "Nice catch. Is that the best you little crap-gnats can muster? 'Cause I gotta tell ya, so not impressed." She got to the point between the two witches, who sprinkled a glittery powder all over her at once, making her look a bit like a disco ball. "Look what you did to my dress, you little..."

She was interrupted by Willow clapping her hands and finishing the spell. "Discede!"

The god burst, powder and glitter flittering to the ground with Willow, who fainted due to the energy required for the spell. Her girlfriend immediately went to her, but she seemed to recover pretty quickly.

Ally was taken by surprise when both Summer sisters hugged her tightly, wincing a bit at the pain on her shoulder but welcoming the embrace. It felt good, and she knew she was one step closer to gaining Buffy's trust, maybe even her friendship. "Thank you." The blonde whispered on her ear. "What did you do to her?" The Slayer asked, looking over at the witches.

"Teleportation spell." The witch’s nose was bleeding and her breathing was irregular, but she seemed quite proud of herself. "Still working out the kinks."

"Where'd you send her?" Ally wondered, still surrounded by the sisters’ arms.

"Don't know. That's one of the kinks." The redhead's face almost made Ally want to laugh.

Giles approached the witches to help Willow stand up, while Xander and Spike started to sit up, the latter looking slightly annoyed until he caught sight of the Potential, sitting up and leaving the Summers sisters to talk.

Giles was half-heartedly reprimanding the redhead about the danger of using magic that powerful, while Xander looked a bit dazed from the hit. The young Potential, meanwhile, tried to take a peek at the wound on her shoulder. It hadn't gone all the way through her, but it would definitely require medical care. Eww, stitches.

"You Ok?" The blond vampire suddenly appeared in front of her, a frown wrinkling his forehead. "You're hurt."

"Yeah, a bit. But, believe me, I've had worse. And, hey, I'm at the hospital. They'll patch me up in the blink of an eye." She shrugged, wincing at the pain the movement brought.

"I'll go with you." He decided, looking her straight in the eye. She smiled at him, silently thanking him. She didn't like stitches, so maybe he could keep her distracted while they sewed the wound.

They turned around to see the sisters hugging, obviously touched by something they had talked about, both confessing they had been scared. Everyone heard them and watched the exchange between the girls before they stood up.

"Wait. Ben. He was here, he was trying to help me. He..." Dawn paused, confused and lost. "I ... I think he might have left before Glory came ... I can't, I can't remember."

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. Next time we see him, we'll thank him." Her sister assured, spotting Ally standing next to Spike. "Will you be OK?"

"Yeah, we'll go get me patched up right now. You two go home, your mom must be freaking out." She smiled at them and headed towards the emergency room with Spike trailing behind her so that the rest didn't have to worry about her. They had had enough for one night.

* * *

"Ally!"

She turned to see Buffy and Dawn on the corridor leading to the ER, running towards her, hugging her again. She returned the hug with one arm, keeping the other clutched to her chest.

The Slayer took a step back and looked from his sister to the Potential. "I'm sorry for... threatening you. Really. I... was too quick to judge. I was scared you were coming for her." Her eyes softened when she looked at the teen, whose head was resting on Ally's good shoulder, tears staining her cheeks.

"It's no biggie. Don't worry about it." She held her good hand out for the Slayer, who didn't hesitate once before shaking it.

* * *

Ally's left arm had been in a sling ever since the night of the fight with Glory, but she was happier than she had been in the whole month. The Scoobies had welcomed her as one more after the showdown, so she could actually hang out with people during the day. And there she was, in the Magic Box, helping Dawn with her homework so that she had Christmas break free to do whatever she wanted. They were both thinking about movie night, given none of them were allowed to go out to patrol anytime soon.

Oh, yeah, Ally was not _allowed._ Spike, Giles and Buffy had strictly forbidden that she went anywhere near a graveyard except to visit Spike, and he had to escort her to the crypt; no walking alone at night for her.

It felt good to have people care about her again. She felt safe.

Dawn and her met almost every day, be it at the Magic Box or at the Summers house, where Joyce would try to stuff Ally as a way of thanking her for taking the hit for the teen. She lost count of how many times she'd said 'Don't worry, I've had worse', which, of course, sparked Giles' curiosity all over again.

She loved to chat with him, he was intellectually very stimulating, like Willow and Tara, and they often talked for hours about demons, weapons or, in the case of the witches, some spells or science-related issues.

Still, what had her dying to recover was the fact that Giles and Buffy wanted to see her fight; more specifically, they had invited her to train with Buffy once her shoulder was back to normal. Apparently, Buffy needed a harder training regime to challenge her, and they wanted to see her techniques and style, interested in how a girl with no special powers was capable of taking several vampires down by herself.

She couldn't tell them the truth about her training. She couldn't let them go after _him_ , thinking he was a threat. Yeah, he could be, but he wasn't most of the time, he wasn't right then. At least, not when she had left. He was good, really good, yet people that didn't personally know him wouldn't hesitate, they would try to kill him.

She was brought out of her reverie by Dawn closing her notebook and letting a long breath out. "Finally. I'm free! I'll go help Will and Tara with their sparkly powders." She flashed a smile at Ally before jumping out of her seat and leaving the Potential reading a book about the Order of Dagon and writing the bits she considered most important on sticky notes.

"Hey, Alls." Buffy sat next to get, her hair up in a bun, probably because she had been training in the back room. "Whatcha doing?"

She raised the book, a heavy tome with darkened edges. She loved that kind of books, even if they were written to purposefully make the reader fall asleep. "Research on the Order of Dagon. Maybe they knew something about Glory's weaknesses or... any other useful thing. Nothing so far." She grimaced, the Slayer copying her. "Did you need anything?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. Mom asked me to invite you over for Christmas dinner at home. She's aching to try to stuff to you to death again." She joked, cracking a smile and looking over at Dawn's notebooks. "Come, Dawn will love to have you there. And I want it, too." Her grin softened and Ally just had to accept. She hadn't had a proper Christmas in years.

"I'd love to." She nodded, leaving the book to rest on the table.

"Oh, and you don't have to bring anything for the dinner..." Buffy started, standing from the chair to get back to Giles, surely to resume her training. She must have been in a break.

"Not even cookies?" She cut her off, smirking. "I make some mean chocolate chip ones."

This made the blonde stop and think, finally shooting her a wide grin. "Yeah, bring cookies."

* * *

Making cookies with only one useful hand was a bitch. Her stitches had been removed the previous day, but she was still told not to move it too much. Ally was sure half the time she had been doing the cookies was spent cursing. By the end of the afternoon, she had a huge batch of double dark chocolate chip cookies on her kitchen counter, waiting to be transferred to a box she would later take to the Summers house, along with her gifts for the ones attending the dinner and Spike. She had more gifts ready to give the rest of the Gang the following day, when they all met at the magic shop.

Not an hour later, she was showered and dressed, all ready to go out with a big bag hanging from her right arm –the 'good one', as she had taken to calling it. It had been a while since she had dressed up, never really having a reason to do so. Jeans and t-shirts were usually enough.

The lights of the living room were on when she knocked on the door of the house she had been visiting every other day for the last week. She could hear voices coming from the other side, and even the smell of... potatoes and garlic before Joyce opened the door. Buffy sneaked up behind her mom, looking at the bag Ally was carrying, licking her lips. "Cookies, cookies, cookies."

"For dessert." Her mom commanded, taking the bag from her and noticing her arm sling-free, but still tightly attached to her side. "How is your arm today?"

"Much better, Mrs. Summers." She smiled, but was immediately corrected by the woman, insisting that she called her Joyce. "Oh, there's..."

"Presents!" Unbeknownst to her, Dawn had also approached her mom, taking a peek inside the bag. "Can we open them now? We're all here!"

Joyce gave in, letting her daughters take the presents to the living room while she took the cookies to the kitchen. Giles was sitting on the couch, softly smiling at the new guest the moment she stepped inside. "Look, Giles, there's even one for you!" Buffy exclaimed, throwing his package at him.

The coffee table was covered by colourful gifts, which were soon torn by the unconventional family. And that's what Ally felt. She felt like she had a family again. She would make damn sure she cherished it.

* * *

Three knocks on his door startled the bleach blond vampire. What in the bloody hell? Wasn't Ally having dinner with Goldilocks, the Nibblet, Rupert and Mommy Summers?

He swung the door open, making the brunette jump a bit at the sudden movement.

"The bloody Slayer better be with you." He snarled looking around to find no one, only the Potential with a bag under her good arm, a thick black coat covering her from neck to right above her knees. “Thought we made damn clear that you couldn't walk around the cemetery alone. What were you thinking?"

"Oh, calm down, mom." She rolled her eyes and walked around him to get into the crypt. "It's Christmas and I didn't want to make Buffy leave, they were watching some movie, a tradition for the Summers girls or whatever. I told them the pain meds were making me sleepy, and I was going to call it a night. If it makes you feel better, I ran. Thank god I didn't wear heels." She glanced at her shoes, some flat almost knee high black boots.

Now that he looked at her well, he noticed a slight flush on her cheeks, breathing a bit faster than usual. Well, it did make him feel a bit better. He sighed at shut the door, getting back to his new couch. She spent quite a bit of time there and she was always perched on the arm of the seat, so he had been trying to find a bigger couch for some time already, specially after her injury.

He watched her leave her bag on the floor and start to unbutton the coat, taking it off with some difficulty. Oh, right, she wasn't wearing a sling anymore, but her shoulder was not back to a hundred percent either.

His eyes widened slightly when he saw the red dress she was wearing under the coat, a V neck letting him catch a glimpse of her cleavage and the material hugging her upper body before flowing once past her waist, complimenting her curves. He shook himself so she didn't catch him staring and averted his eyes.

"Why didn't you stay with them?"

"I wanted to give you your Christmas present." She smirked at his incredulous face, plopping down next to him and tucking her feet beneath her, getting a big silver wrapped box out of her bag. "Well, open it." She nudged his arm with hers, but he could only stare at the box. It took him a good five seconds to start tearing the gift-wrap off, only to discover a new VHS player in it. He looked up at Ally, raising one eyebrow. His eyes widened when she took a videotape out of her bag, showing him the cover. "So you don't start to bitch if you miss _Passions_ again."

"I don't bitch." He complained, pouting, but didn't take his hands off his present.

"Sure." She laughed and shifted so she was a bit closer. "Merry Christmas, Spike." She planted a soft kiss in his cheek and then rested her head on his shoulder, happy.

It was the best Christmas she'd had in a very long time.

* * *

The youngest members of the Scooby Gang, also the ones not allowed to get in fights with evil crawlies yet, spent the evening watching chick flicks at the Summers residence. Buffy was out patrolling and Joyce was probably in her room, reading or whatever she did when she had alone time. Spike had accompanied Ally to the house when it got dark, having ran into her on the way and insisting she shouldn't be alone on the street when he could go out, and therefore all vampires of Sunnydale. They wouldn't even let her train, not even abs and some kicks until at least a week later, so Ally was aching for something to distract her. She hadn't been seeing Dawn as often as during the break, now that she was back at school, so they had arranged a girls' night at her place.  

"You know," Dawn started, watching a teen with bleached blond hair, strangely similar to a certain vamp's. "Buffy still thinks that hanging out with Spike is not cool. She says it is dangerous, icky." She leaned her head against her friend's shoulder, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Spike's not icky. He's just a bit... out of the box for human standards." She brushed it off. She didn't expect the Slayer to befriend a vampire easily. And the fact that they were always at each other's throats didn't help, even if Spike was on their side.

"Yeah, exactly! That's what I told her. I mean," She straightened, fully turning towards the elder, and her face lit up when she thought about him. "he has cool hair, and he wears cool coats and stuff. And he doesn't treat me like an alien like the rest of the Gang..."

A small smile tugged at Ally's lips, realizing what that was about. "You have a crush on him."

"No, I don't!" But her face said otherwise.

Ally's smile vanished and she copied Dawn's posture. "Dawn, you shouldn't have a crush on him, you're only fourteen. It won't take you anywhere. Believe me, I’ve been there."

"I like hanging out with him, is all." The teen reassured, shaking her head. "And even if I did have a crush on him, he wouldn't notice in a million years. Not with you around." She shrugged, looking down at her hands.

"What does that mean?" Ally asked, a bit taken aback.

"Spike's totally into you." The youngest declared, matter-of-factly.

Ally was left speechless until Joyce came down the stairs and into the living room. "What are you girls talking about?"

"Boys." Dawn replied, letting herself lean back into the couch, focusing on the movie again.

Needless to say, it was not so easy for Ally.


	4. Chapter 4

Ally arrived at the Magic Box, newspaper clutched in her good hand, looking for a certain tiny blonde girl. She only saw another blonde girl and an old man, both attending customers. Shit, it was too early.

"Oh, good morning, Ally. You're early today. Is something wrong?" Giles spotted her and approached, gesturing at the customer to head to the cash register.

"Morning. No, well, yes. Have you read the newspaper today? I need to talk to Buffy." She showed him the first page, where 'METROTRAIN MURDER. Six Found Murdered on Train at Sunnydale Station.' was written in big bold letters. "'Six found murdered on train at Sunnydale Station. Unconfirmed reports of severe trauma to the throats of one or more of the victims.'" She recited, after having read the article several times over.

"Vampire." The Watched muttered, nodding at her. "Yes, we should contact Buffy, but she's at the university right now. We'll tell her later."

"I could go take a look at scene..." She was cut off my the old British man's hand, knowing what was coming.

"No. You are on a break, you-you need to focus on getting better, not going after vampires. Buffy will deal with this, don't worry."

But she was bored. She hadn't been able to write in quite some time, Dawn and Buffy were in class and it was the middle of the day, which meant Spike would be asleep. Not like she wanted to go there. Well, she did, but… She hadn't seen him since the movie night with Dawn, when she had dropped the bomb. What was she going to do with Spike? She wasn't ready for a relationship, she had broken up with her previous boyfriend not two months earlier.

And she was aching for some action. She had to do something. Six people had been killed in that train, and she was sure the killer wasn't going to stop there. 

* * *

She went back home and trained, trying to get the tension out of her system. She didn't even realize what time it was until someone knocked on her door. She certainly didn't expect the whole Gang to be there, even Spike, Dawn and Joyce.

"What the... What's going on?"

For a second, everyone was quiet. Buffy was at the front of the group, her eyes sliding from the brunette's flushed face to her feet, taking in her sports bra, shorts and trainers, the sweaty skin and, finally, the angry red tissue on her shoulder. "Were you training?!" She yelled, face contorting in anger and concern. "We told you still had to let it rest, you are not fully recovered!" The Slayer advanced on her, making her step back.

"Fuck, Buffy I needed to do something. I've been sitting on my ass for two weeks. For God's sake I'm not made of paper!" She exploded, letting everything she hadn't got rid off before out.

"Buffy's right, Ally." The Watcher intervened, standing next to his protégée and taking his glasses off to wipe them. "The-the wound is still recent and you shouldn't be fo-forcing it, it could make it worse or even prevent full recovery." His expression was soft, fatherly, but Ally could only hear disapproval.

"I can't sit back anymore! There's some mass murderer vampire out there!" She held her arms out brusquely, holding back a wince to avoid being scolded again.

"And that is Buffy's job as a Slayer, not yours." The man reminded her, said Slayer nodding in agreement.

"It's not enough!" She roared, old memories resurfacing, threatening to overwhelm her. "There more evil out there than a Slayer alone can handle. I can't stand back, pretend it's not happening. If I do, people die!" At first she didn't notice. She didn't feel the tears running down her cheeks, spilling from her reddened eyes. It was only when everyone went silent and observed her face that she realized she was crying.

"Ally, honey, what's happening?" The motherly side of Joyce took over and she pushed herself to the front of the group, speaking quietly and surrounding the girl with one arm, leading her to the couch to sit down. "Is there something else bothering you?"

"I can't just do nothing." She sobbed, embarrassed at the show she was putting on, everyone following her with their eyes. "I can't."

"Why? What happened?" Joyce knew there was something more behind her attitude, her need to take care of what was out there.

"People die. I can't let them die. Not again." Her voice had dropped down to a broken whisper, her emotions overruling her. She wasn't really thinking what she was saying.

"Again?" Buffy crouched in front of her, taking Ally's hands in hers. "What happened, Alls? Who died?"

"My parents." She wept, a new stream of tears leaving her eyes, shoulders trembling and hands shaking in Buffy's hold. "They were killed in front of me and I couldn't save them." Her confession sent a wave of anguish to every occupant of the room, now aware of the guilt that plagued her. But she was not responsible for what happened to her parents, they knew it.

"How old were you then, honey?" The eldest Summers woman asked, rubbing soothing circles in the girl's back.

"Fifteen."

"Oh, sweetheart..." Joyce couldn't imagine what it could have been like. Fifteen and witnessing her parents be murdered.

Giles made his calculations, taking into account what Ally had told him about her life, although it was not much. He immediately reached a conclusion that broke his heart. "That's when you started. That's when you started you-your training regime. You wanted revenge."

She shook her head, leaning forward, resting her forearms on her thighs. Buffy squeezed her hands in support, smiling lightly at her. Dawn sat on the other side of her, placing a hand on her shoulder carefully. "Not revenge. Six vampires attacked us. I killed three before someone else arrived and took care of the other three and got me out of there. I already had my revenge." She paused, taking a deep breath. "I wanted to prevent others from suffering like I did. That's why I started slaying." Her voice was a tad more calm, yet she was still trembling.

"You need to understand that you can't do your job, _our_ job, if you don't let yourself heal first." The short blonde girl explained gently, her thumb caressing her hands. "Doesn't mean you sit back and do nothing. It means that you do other things while you recover. Right now, we need you to look after my mom and sister, we are going to get with the train's case and I need to know they are safe."

"I'll take care of them." Ally softly smiled, feeling a bit better now that she could at least help with something.

* * *

It broke him to see Ally like that. His Ally Cat, whimpering and sobbing on the Summers matriarch's shoulder, surrounded by them, offering her warmth and comfort. She was already one of them, and he could see her drifting farther away from him. She hadn't visited him in a few days already and that voice kept repeating it was because she had other friends now, human friends.

And ever since her visit on Christmas, that brushing of her lips against his skin, he had been assaulted by dreams. Dreams where he held her, loved her, where she was his. Dreams that couldn't come true. He was a vampire, he was the same thing that killed her parents. Heck, he could be the one another girl just like her had lost her family to. He was. He was quite sure. And he had loved it back then, enjoyed every second of the kill, the tortures.

How could he ever ask for her love? How could he ever tell her what he felt now that he knew what he did? The girl might be able to be his friend, to welcome him in her life as one more, but she wouldn't be able to love him. She would never feel for him like he felt for her.

When had he been turned into this? When had he become a sodding lovesick idiot? He was a killer, it was in his nature, his very essence. He was meant to kill, to torture, to feast on families, turn homes into bloody wreckages. He had been doing it for so long… Then the bloody chip came, making him turn against his own species, befriend humans, fall in love with them.

Why? Why couldn't he just take the chip out, go back to what he was, back to his true self?

Because it was not his true self anymore, was it? Would he be the murderer he was, given the chance?

So he turned to Harmony. After all, she only wanted his body. She didn't care if he killed humans or vampires, as long as he let her have fun with him.

That is, until Drusilla turned up in his crypt. Her and her words, her hypnotic ways, had him remembering his old days, his lust for blood. That was him. The chip was the only thing holding him back.

"All in your head. I can see it. Little bit of ... plastic, spiderwebbing out nasty blue shocks." The ebony haired vampire moved her fingers across his head imitating a spider, caressing his bleached curls. "And every one is a lie. Electricity lies, Spike. It tells you you're not a bad dog, but you are." And he believed every single word of it, why would he not? He gazed into her eyes, a deep growl coming from his throat.

Then a squeaky voice interrupted them. "What the heck is this?"

"Oh, bloody hell." He turned to see Harmony coming into the crypt, approaching them.

"Who is - oh, wait. I get it. Our little sex game was just the beginning. Now you've gone and picked up some cheap queen of the damned to dress up like your precious Drood-zilla." She started ranting, her voice drilling his head.

"Harm." He tried to cut her, but it was useless with the dammed blonde parrot.

"You'd better not be thinking what I think you're thinking. 'Cause my answer is the same as always. No threesomes unless it's boy, boy, girl. Or Charlize Theron." She explained as if speaking to a kid. Well, it was actually the way she always spoke, as her mind hadn't developed much more than an eight-year-old's.

"Harm, you moron, this _is_ Drusilla."

"Oh. Well," She scoffed, placing her hands on her hips and walking towards the dark-haired beauty. "you've got some nerve showing up here like this. After all this time. After breaking my sweet boo-boo's heart." Dru looked over at Spike, standing behind the blonde girl, and mouthed 'boo-boo', making him shake his head. "Do you have any idea how hard it's been to break down the walls he put up after you left? I mean, _serious_ trust issues."

Her voice broke a bit, but Spike ignored her passionate tirade. "Harm..."

"So it's no use you crawling back to him, 'cause Spikey don't play that game any more, Morticia." Harmony finished and Dru raised a hand in front of her, not even looking at the young vamp.

Spike, tired of hearing her talk and use such ridiculous nicknames on him, made her turn by pulling her shoulder, only to grab her by the throat and squeeze, making sure to inflict some pain, as she really didn't need to breath. He looked over at his first love even as he spoke to the blonde. "It's been fun while it lasted, Harm, but I think it'd be best now if you hit the road." He threw her across the room and against a wall, where she slid down to a sitting position.

"Why?" She demanded to know, panting and holding the wall next to her. "Because she is back?"

"No." He stepped closer to Drusilla, a satisfied expression on his face. "Because I am." He put an arm around her waist and pulled her close to him, like back in the old days.

"And there you are, my darling, deadly boy." She purred before he wrapped a hand on the back of her neck and she kissed him. Just like they did before.

* * *

After Buffy had come back from searching the train with the others, Ally was invited to their place, no one wanting to leave her alone in her fragile state of mind. She readily accepted, knowing that she was more likely to not push herself too hard when she was in the company of the girls. Her family.

They stayed up until late at night, the Potential sandwiched between the two Summers sister in the couch. Dawn was sent to bed a bit earlier, leaving both slayers alone.

"It was not your fault, you know." Buffy took the brunette's hand, squeezing lightly. "The first thing a Slayer needs to learn is that not all deaths are preventable. Death is part of life. We have to do the best we can, but no one can ask us for more, not even ourselves. Doesn't mean it won't hurt, doesn't mean we won't try to change it. It means we can't let it rule our lives. We're not good in a weak state of mind."

Ally's eyes glistened, but she was soothed by the sound of the blonde's voice, comforted by her words. Buffy had seen death, had suffered it, she knew that. And that was why her words meant so much. Only one other person could comfort her like that, make her feel safe, and she had been avoiding him because she didn't want to face his feelings. What kind of friend was she? She had been selfish, afraid of their relationship changing. Didn't she know that staying away from him would do exactly that?

"Thank you, Buff." She squeezed the blonde's hand back and straightened in her seat. "I needed to hear that. I know I can't live in the past. I need to embrace the present, the people I care about now. My friends." Her voiced trembled, making the Slayer throw her arms around her, holding her tight. "You're my family now. You, Dawnie, Joyce, the Gang... and Spike. I haven't seen him in a few days for completely stupid reasons. I know you won't like it, but I have to go see him now." She leaned back, looking into the blonde's face. It was firm, but not angry or disapproving. "And don't worry, I'm taking my magic wand with me." She smiled, taking her stake out of her boot.

Buffy sighed and her voice took a joking air. "I really hope that's for Captain Peroxide."

Ally chuckled and punched her lightly in the arm before standing from the couch and heading out.

"Be careful." She heard before she closed the door behind her.

* * *

She knocked, but no one answered. Would he be out, doing... whatever he did at night? Well, she could wait inside until he came back, that way she wouldn't have to face any vampires lurking around the graveyard.

She opened the door only to find him inside, standing near one of the tombs, the room barely lit by a couple torches. "Hey. I thought you weren't here. I knocked." She slowly approached him, who watched every single one of her steps with mixed feelings, silent. "Are you alright? Uh... I know I haven't been here in a few days, I just being stupid, I'm sorry... I..." She didn't get to finish the sentence. The last thing she saw before being shaken but an electric current travelling through her system was his frightened face.

And then black.

* * *

She woke up with a burning feeling in her back, like she had had been branded with a hot iron. Her heart was beating unusually fast, as if she had been running a marathon, and her muscles felt sore. She was on some kind of cushiony surface, lying on her side, and she couldn't hear a thing.

That is, until she opened her eyes and saw the same bleached blond vampire she had seen before being knocked out by... a taser?

"There you are, love. Beginning to think you'd sleep the night away." He tried to hide his concern, crouched in front of her in what was probably the lower level of his crypt, lit by torches, with skulls here and there, a few coffins and even a chest.

"What... happened, Spike?" She tried to sit up, her hands shaking a bit. "Who... who tasered me? What's going on?"

He stepped aside to let her see the beautiful woman tied to a pillar, all of her dark, except for her pearly skin, with a few burn marks here and there. "Not nice to change the game in mid-play, Spike. You've taken my chair and the music hasn't stopped."

"Sorry, pet. My house, my rules." The blond countered, not really caring about it.

"I think I shall be very cross with you when I'm free again." Her voice was sweet and soft, but the way she talked made her sound a bit... mad.

"What's going on?" Ally repeated, folding her hands on her lap to prevent them from trembling anymore, her gaze moving back and forth between both vampires.

"Simple. This is Drusilla, my ex." He didn't seem bothered by her raised eyebrow. What did that had to do with her? "I'm gonna prove something. I love you."

Drusilla started laughing in the background, apparently thoroughly amused. Spike didn't like it, though. "I can do without the laugh track, Dru."

"But it's so funny. I knew ... before you did. I knew you loved the Potential. The pixies in my head whispered it to me." The woman was definitely insane. Yet, the bit about the Potential grabbed Ally's attention. How did she know? Did Spike tell her?

"You can't tell me that there isn't anything there between you and me. I know you feel something. I love you." Her friend insisted, his voice vulnerable, his emotions out in the open.

She sighed, hanging her head, knowing this was going to take them nowhere good. "You can't, Spike..." She started, only to be interrupted by the dark haired vampire.

"Oh, we can, you know. We can love quite well. If not wisely." Her dreamy voice kept Ally calm, yet it was not what she meant.

Spike got nervous at her words, frantic. "You don't believe. Don't think I mean it. You want proof, huh?" His voice dropped to a whisper. "How's this?" He stalked to the chest, grabbed a stake and pointed it straight to Drusilla's heart. "I'm gonna kill Drusilla for you."

"Spike, it's not... I can't. And hey, if you want to kill her, by now I'm pretty sure it's her who arrived in that train. But I can't... I can't do this."

"This is Drusilla, girl! You have the slightest idea what she means to me? It's the face of my salvation!" He looked at Dru and smiled lightly, taking the stake away from her chest. "She delivered me from mediocrity. For over a century we ... cut a swath through continents. A hundred years, she never stopped surprising me." His eyes were warm, his face loving, and Ally was surprise at the slight pang in her heart. But Spike did not understand, he didn't know what she meant. He was blinded, he wouldn't listen. He raised his hand to stroke Drusilla's face, her expression one of devotion. "Never stopped taking me to new depths. I was a lucky bloke. Just to touch such a black beauty." She mewled, right before he put the stake back against her heart. "So you see, it means something."

"You don't understand, Spike. I can't."

"Because I am a vampire?! Because you're too good?!" He turned his back on her, still on the pile of cushions he had put her on, and then screamed his lungs out, throwing his arms to his sides and hurling the stake against the wall. "What the bleeding hell is wrong with you bloody women? What the hell does it take? Why ... do you bitches torture me?" She had never seen him like that, fuming, the veins in his neck and forehead popping out. She flinched, scooting back among the pillows unconsciously. "Look, I, I'm at the end of my bleeding tether. You know? I don't even know why I even bother, you know." He started pacing like a mad man, all at once turning towards his ex and pointing his finger at her. "This is your fault. You're the one to blame for all this." Ally didn't even know what to do. How could she get him to calm down, to listen?

"Am I?" She asked, not even touched by his rant, her voice still calm and dreamy, like silk rolling off her tongue.

Spike just kept on screaming. "Bloody right you are! If you hadn't left me for that chaos demon, I never would have come back here! Never would have had this sodding chip in my skull!" Again, the chip. Ally had to remember to ask him about it once things had calmed down. "And you - " He turned towards the girl curled into a ball on the floor, looking up at him in fear and uneasiness. "wouldn't be able to touch me, because this," he pointed from him to Ally, desperate. "with you, is wrong. I know it. I'm not a complete idiot."

She just wanted to tell him, just wanted to get him to sit down with her on the couch, like before, and explain everything to him.

Instead, he stomped past her, once again twisting around and looking at her, pointing towards his chest. "You think I like having you in here? Destroying everything that was me, until all that's left is you, in a dead shell. " He scoffed, shaking his head. "You know, what I should just do, is get rid of both of you." Ally's eyes widened, unable to believe his words. Was he that hurt? "Burn you. Cut you into little pieces so there won't be any more bints to cock up things for Spi-"

Suddenly, he stopped and fell to the ground, an arrow sticking out of his back.

"Spike!" Ally jumped up from her place among the pillows, running to his side. She could see another pretty blonde girl with a crossbow behind him, staring at him. Another ex? What the hell? What did he do to them? Still, she fell to her knees next to him, hands hovering over him, not sure if she should pull the arrow out.

He glanced at her, surprised at her actions, then at the blonde. "Oh, great."

"What about me, Spike?" The blonde asked, stepping a bit closer to the pair. "You forget about me again? The _actual_ girlfriend?" She was hurt, that much was obvious, but she also looked strangely naive for what Ally assumed was another vampire. "I gave you the best ... bunch of months of my life!" She raised her crossbow to hit him with it, the weapon stopping a few inches from his head by the Potential's hands, the pressure on her shoulder making pain sear through her.

"That's right, little girl. Teach our naughty boy a lesson." Drusilla encouraged the new arrival, her voice not betraying any emotions.

"Oh, so now you're all ganging up." Complained the only man while the blonde stepped back from the attack, eyeing the human in front of her, noticing her holding her right hand to her left shoulder as if injured.

"I thought I could change you, Spike. I thought maybe if I gave and I gave and gave, maybe you'd come around." She turned her back on them, walked a couple steps and face them again. "Maybe be a little nicer. Stop treating me like your dog." She began to reload the crossbow while the Potential tried to help Spike, still hunched over on his knees. "But now I see it's you. You're the dog. Who needs to be put d-"

She bent over a bit to pick up another arrow, and Spike took his chance to lunge at her, pushing Ally to the side and out of the fight. He had noticed her pain, and he simply didn't have it in him to let her get hurt, no matter how angry he was. He had come to him when he was hurt. At least, she cared.

But Ally didn't feel it was right to let him fight alone with an arrow popping out of his back. How he could move like that was something she could not understand.

He managed to pull the girl to the ground, but she twisted the arrow, making him growl in pain and Ally step towards them. She just couldn't...

She was interrupted from her plan of helping him by Drusilla getting free and attacking her, punching her and kicking her in the gut, averting her attention to her own fight. She blocked a couple hits, yet she knew that the vampire was old and experienced. When Dru realized the girl could put up a fight, she resorted to taking a wooden board and hitting her with it, before grabbing Ally's throat in her hand, ready to finish her.

In an instant, Spike was on her, throwing his ex to the side and making sure his friend was fine, no mortal wounds on her.

The dark haired beauty stood up from the ground, looking betrayed, her eyes on her former lover. "Poor Spike... so lost." And for the first time that night, her voice trembled, mourning the loss. "Even I can't help you now." With that, she parted, leaving the odd couple with the blonde whose name Ally still hadn't heard.

"Oh Spikey." She called, gaining their attention. "And you can say good-bye to this" She pointed at her butt, cocking her hips to let them see it clearly. "because you're not gonna see it any more ever. Unless you run into me somewhere and it's me walking away from you. But even then ... I'll probably just ... you know ... back away." Her goodbye lost its intensity with her last words, even more when she did exactly that, back away until she was no more in sight.

They were finally alone, and Spike looked a bit more calm, although she couldn't know for sure, he could be keeping it down for a bit before exploding again. He looked almost... hopeful.

"That was a hell of a reunion." She commented, holding her hand to her jaw, where she could already feel the bruise forming from one of Drusilla's successful punches.

"I... am sorry for the way it turned out. Wasn't expecting you to turn up tonight, I didn't want to do it like this." He seemed to be ashamed, not daring to look her in the eye.

"So you were thinking about telling me about... your feelings?" She hugged herself, wincing at another bruise on her stomach.

"Yes, of course, but I... I knew you wouldn't like it, I knew you wouldn't want anything to do with me." His words started coming out quickly, not even letting her speak. "We have something, Ally Cat. It's not pretty, but it's real."

She smiled at the nickname. She liked it. Spike seemed to take this as a good sign as was about to start his speech again, but she held up a hand to stop him.

"How about you walk me to the Summers' home and you finally listen to what I have to say? You haven't even let me explain, Spike." She started walking towards the ladder that lead to ground level, pausing at the base to look at him. "Are you coming? I thought I still wasn't allowed to stroll around the graveyard alone at night."

* * *

The first few minutes of the walk to the Slayer's house were silent. Spike didn't dare utter a word after threatening to end her in his rage-ridden tirade. He really didn't mean to. The whole night was a mistake, he was lucky she did not seem to hate him yet. He had drunk from a girl at the Bronze, really sucked her dry, and enjoyed it. Then he'd gotten his best friend tasered and beaten up by his ex, but that's where he draw the line. Nobody messed with his Ally Cat.

Ally was thinking about how to tell him she couldn't be with him yet without him flipping out again. But he seemed calm, even guilty. She should take the chance.

"Spike..." She took a deep breath, watching him from the corner of her eye. He had perked up at his name, staring at her, watching her every movement attentively. "I can't return your feelings _right now_." She emphasized the last two words to make clear it was not an absolute rejection. "I broke up with my last boyfriend not three months ago." She explained, getting her hands in the pockets of her jacket. "We were together _together_ for half a year, but we had been living together for almost three years, and I had been in love with him for over one. He was my first love." She glanced at her silent companion to see his jaw clenched shut, his cheekbones standing out. He seemed to be holding himself back from saying something, his expression a bit angry... or jealous? "Something like that just doesn't go away in such a short time. Yes, I don't think I'm in love with him anymore. He will always be important, but I know there's no _us_ , there will never be again." Spike's gaze softened at this, looking down, relieved. "But it's too soon, Spike. I can't be with you right now." She stopped and fully faced him, staring up into his blue eyes. "And I can't ask you to wait for me. You're important for me, you've been my first friend when I had nothing. I don't want to lose that."

"I don't want to lose you either." He admitted, shifting on his feet, his voice deep and velvety. "And I will wait for you, you know. Just needed a possibility to hang onto. A maybe."

A small smile tugged at Ally's lips, lighting up her face in the dark of night. She stepped closer and hugged him, really hugged him, burying her face in the crook of his shoulder. "Thank you, Spike, for being my friend."

His arms wrapped around her, her warmth seeping into him, heating his cold undead body. He rested his cheek against her head, breathing in her scent, citrus and coconut, and something else that was entirely _Ally._

And he felt happy. For the first time in forever, he was happy. She might not return his love just yet, but he had a chance, and he was going to take it. He just needed to give her time, and meanwhile, he could still have her around.

After all, he had just lost his girlfriend.


	5. Chapter 5

The Summers sisters were messing with their mom, who was trying to get their opinion on the dress she had chosen for her date that night. They had invited Ally over again, they seemed to be doing that a lot the last couple of weeks since the teary incident in her apartment, and she often stayed the night.

"You're messing with me!" Joyce finally realised, halting half-twirl in the middle of the living room.

Dawn and Ally laughed from the couch, confirming the woman's statement.

Buffy decided to tease her mom a bit more, enjoying every second of it. "We just wanted to see how many times we could get you to do it."

"Was that five, or four and a half?" Dawn asked the jury, her sister and her newest sister.

"I'd say four and a half." Declared the latter, holding back a chuckle.

"So is anyone gonna talk about my dress?" Joyce pleaded, holding her arms out for the young girls to fully see it.

"I like it." Dawn assured, the other brunette nodding along with her.

"You sure? I mean, it's not too mom-ish?" She looked down at herself, worried about her date.

The teen's face fell. "Oh. That was why I liked it."

"You're both crazy." Buffy intervened. "It's not mom-ish at all." Joyce was visibly relieved at this. "It's sexy. It screams, 'Randy sex kitten, buy me one drink and I'll...'" She seemed to have forgotten it was her mom for a moment, taking it all back. "Oh, wait, that's not really good either."

Her two companions nodded in agreement, now really dubious about the dress. They continued to talk about the date, the time and the man for a while, getting Joyce even more nervous about it at the end. "Buffy, Ally, what do you think? Should I, you know, try to make things romantic, or... sorta let him set the pace?

Buffy stood up, walking to the other end of the couch, shaking her head. "Oh, no. Love Doctor Buffy is not in. I am not qualified to give dating advice. I've had exactly two boyfriends, and they both left. Really left. Left town left." Ally didn't really know anything about Buffy's ex, except that one was actually quite recent, so she decided not to ask about them.

"Honey, you just had some bad luck." Her mom comforted the blonde, her expression softening.

Then they all looked at her, thinking she could add some useful advice. "No, no, no. I've had one boyfriend and it ended up with _me_ leaving town. I know nothing about relationships. I'm hopeless."

"Well," Dawn spoke up, looking at the Slayer. "you're going to that spring break party tonight. Maybe you'll find someone there."

"And maybe I could get Alls here to find someone too." The blonde smirked, a mischievous glint in her eyes.

 _Oh, dear_. Was all the brunette could think about. She hadn't told them about Spike's declaration of love, thinking the Slayer might go after him if she knew. If Spike found out about her getting involved with someone else after telling him it was too soon for her, he would be hurt.

* * *

 

The Gang was watching a really cute girl who had recently arrived, looking for someone called Warren, while Buffy chatted with a guy called Ben, the same Ben that had helped Dawn at the hospital it seemed. He was really cute, brown haired, and a _doctor_. Also, apparently interested in Buffy, and she was totally into him too.

"That guy over there can't stop staring at you." Willow whispered in Ally's ear while she sipped her juice. Yeah, she was the kind that got plain, non alcoholic juice at parties.

She looked over to find who she was talking about, noticing a boy, around his early twenties, discreetly watching her. He had long dark blonde hair coming down almost to his shoulders, and bright green eyes noticeable from the distance. A light stubble covered his strong defined jaw, making him look a bit more mature. He winked at her when he saw her looking at him, causing her to blush and avert her eyes, focusing back on her friends.

It didn't take long for him to come near her, standing just two feet from her. "Uh, hi. Name's James. I... saw you and really had to talk to you." He held his hand out for her, who obliged and shook it.

"Ally." She briefly informed, the redness of her cheeks increasing. She really wasn't used to flirting, not like that. Yes, she had been hit on before, she had flirted before, but she was never interested or affected by it. But right then, she was at a party and she was single. It made her nervous.

"That's a beautiful name. Is it short for Allison?" He smirked confidently.

"No, it's just Ally."

"Oh, well. Do you study here at UC Sunnydale?" He gestured around the room with the hand holding his cup of... probably some kind of alcoholic beverage.

"No, I don't go to college. I moved here a couple months ago, actually." She shrugged, smiling when she caught Anya giving her a thumbs up and pointing at James.

"You seem to have a good group of friends already, for someone new." He noticed, following her gaze and making Anya drop her hands.

Her smile widened, grateful for them. "I've been lucky, really." Then she noticed someone else watching her from across the hall, standing near the pretty girl looking for Warren. He turned his eyes towards James, and she could see some of the fire from that night with Dru and Harmony back. She didn't realize James was talking to her still. "Uh, sorry, what?" She turned her gaze back to him, blinking, a bit lost.

"I was just asking if you wanted to dance. The music's really good tonight."

"I... uhm... Sure." She would have to talk to Spike about glaring at every men she spoke to, except Xander and Giles.

James left their cups aside and took her hand to lead her to somewhere with more room to move, holding her right hand high and placing his left hand on her waist, respecting her personal space by not pushing her too close to him.

They made idle chat, not really following the rhythm of the music but simply swaying to one side and the other.

Until they saw Warren's girl lift Spike in the air and throw him out of the window, crashing it on the way.

"No!" Ally immediately left her dancing partner and ran towards her bleach blond friend, who seemed to have a penchant for getting beaten up. "What's wrong with you?" She yelled at the super strong girl before jumping over the ledge and landing next to the vampire, who was just beginning to recover, luckily no pieces of wood from the window sticking out of his chest.

He fully straightened himself and frowned at the girl on the pink flowery dress on the other side of the window, staring at him. "Bloody hell! You threw me through a window! What's that about?" She didn't really seem to care, her face passive, unchanging.

"You do not make those suggestions to me. I have a boyfriend. Warren is my boyfriend." She cleared, leaving no room for flirts.

Ally, on the other hand, raised an eyebrow at Spike. What suggestions?

"You know what?" He was still fuming at Warren's girl. "My bleeding sympathies to Warren." And he walked off, only sending one hurt look at Ally.

Buffy, inside the building, had advanced on the girl by the time the Potential jumped through the hole that was the window. "Excuse me. Hi. Um, uh, maybe you and I could talk. You know, 'cause, throwing Spike through a window," She paused and grinned, making Ally, nearing her, roll her eyes. "well, that's really good... um, but, you know, generally speaking-"

"Do you know my boyfriend?" The girl repeated once again, like a broken cassette.

Buffy held one hand up to stop her. "Okay. I think you need to take a second and stop looking for your boyfriend."

And she did the same with Buffy as she did with the vampire, only keeping her inside the room, surrounded by shocked witnesses. "I have to find him." She walked over to the Slayer and the brunette kneeling next to her, halting a couple steps from them. "If I hurt you just now, I'm sorry. And I hope that your boyfriend will take good care of you." And just like that, she left.

* * *

 

The Scooby Gang reached the conclusion that she was a robot, no one arguing about it. They would search for that Warren guy in the morning.

* * *

Gathered around the round table on the Magic Box, they theorized about Warren and the robot, eventually moving onto why someone would need a robot to keep their company, which turned into a big pity party for the only single youngsters in the group.

"Are we going to end up being the new Golden Girls? With fourteen cats and crochet tablecloths?" Ally leaned against the Slayer, sharing their slight depression at being alone, both having recently broken up with their boyfriends.

"I don't know how to do crochet work." The blonde whined, resting her head on top of her friend's.

* * *

While Buffy went to find that Warren guy, Ally decided to visit a certain jealous vampire, knowing things would be complicated after his behaviour the previous night. They had to set things straight, if only for the sake of keeping their friendship.

Luckily, she was allowed to go to cemetery alone again, having started training once more the previous week. She was still not ready to go against Buffy, so Giles was assessing her individual training sessions and he was quite impressed if she said so. Not like she was going to find any vamps in the graveyard during the day.

Which meant Spike was probably sleeping. Should she wake him up or wait? Well, she was going to give him some time, it was the least she could do, he was thrown out of a window by a sexbot not twelve hours before.

The Potential opened the door to the crypt as silently as possible, only giving her enough space to get in and close it again, not wanting Spike to turn into a pile of dust right there. She looked over her shoulder to find him still sleeping on top of the tomb farthest away from the door, covered with a flimsy blanket, peaceful.

So the wannabe slayer took a seat near one of the tiny windows that let the smallest rays of sunshine into the crypt and got a book out from her bag, sitting down and waiting for Captain Peroxide to wake up on his own, hoping their conversation wouldn't go completely wrong.

* * *

It was well into the afternoon when her stomach started growling, apparently loud enough for vampire hearing to catch the noise and make Spike hop to the other side of the tomb, alert. She had completely forgotten lunch, immersed in the book as she was.

He didn't see her at first, looking towards the door while she was almost hidden behind a pillar, sitting on a block of stone, legs crossed. She could barely see him from one side of the pillar, one eye peeping at his shaken form. "It's just me, Spike." She made herself known, watching him visibly relax at her voice and his eyes frantically look for her, almost instantly spotting her.

What a second earlier had been a relaxed visage, turned into a scowl the next, dropping the blanket on top of the tomb and pacing towards the other side of the crypt, even further away from her. "What was that noise? It sounded like a hellhound."

"My stomach." She replied sheepishly, closing her book and getting off her seat. "Sorry, I didn't eat lunch today. I've been waiting for you to wake up for some time now." Her arms went around her middle, slowly approaching the sulking vampire.

He turned his head towards her, his back facing her still, and raised one eyebrow. "Your stomach." He repeated, incredulous, making her furiously blush. "How long have you been here?"

No love, no pet, no Ally Cat. He was pissed off at something, and she thought she had an idea what it was.

"I don't know, a few hours, kinda lost track of time while I was reading." She shrugged and stepped closer to him. "What's going on, Spike? I saw you at the party."

"Everyone saw me at the party. I was thrown outta a freaking window!" He fully turned to face her, throwing his arms in the air.

"No, I mean before that, when you were shooting daggers at James. What was..."

His jaw clenched and he started ranting again, just like Ally had feared. "Oh, so it's James now..."

"Shut it, Spike." She cut him, not ready to put up with his attitude. "We were talking, just talking, and you can't expect me to not communicate with any other man in this planet just because you think you're in love with me."

"I don't _think_ I'm in love with you, I _know_ I am. I'm bloody drowning in you!" He burst again, advancing on her until she had to step back.

"That's not what I meant. I'm just saying you can't start glaring at every single man that approaches me, Spike. For one, it's not healthy, and it really makes me want to punch you." She took a deep breath and rotated in place, back facing the vampire. "You can't do that, we're friends! You know I can't give you, or anyone else, more than that right now. So stop with the jealous act, cause it only makes me be cross with you." She glared at him from over her shoulder, seeing his gaze set on the wall, hands clenched into fists.

"It's not easy, you know. I feel like the moment when you can move on will come and it won't be me who will be there, but someone like _James._ " He hissed the last word, so filled with venom that Ally cringed.

"Get over it. I won't have you controlling every single person I meet. I don't do well with being restrained." She spat, striding to the door and looking once at him, her hand on the knob. "Seriously, Spike, get over it."

* * *

She ran. She ran all the way from her apartment to the morgue, the news still not sinking in. It couldn't be true. It just couldn't. She had been perfectly fine the previous day, excited about her date, the four girls gathered in the living room as a pre-date support group. There had to be some mistake, something that they didn't notice.

Joyce couldn't be dead.

But there were tears on her cheeks, freezing from the air, yet she was warm, too warm. How could she be crying when it hadn't even started to sink in? Joyce couldn't be dead, she couldn't. She was OK. She had seen her the day before, and she was perfectly fine. She was happy. She was excited.

She couldn't be dead.

Willow had called her. But Willow hadn't seen her, right? It could be a mistake. It had to be a mistake. She would get to the morgue and everyone would be there, but Joyce would be alright, telling them she was fine, that it was just a misunderstanding.

Because she couldn't be dead.

Not again. This couldn't happen again. Because mom could only die once. Only once. And she had seen it. There was no point in denying the first one. She had been there. She had seen her mother lay still on the floor, blood dripping down her neck, even as she was engaged in combat with one of those monsters. She had screamed, she knew it was real. It had hurt like a million stabs, like someone had been squeezing her hart until it bled, until it stopped beating, no air in her lungs, no breath, no life left in her for a second. She knew mom was dead.

So she couldn't have died again. It was not possible.

She got to the morgue, and stopped when she saw the group. Her friends. Her family. Mom was not there. She was not telling them she was fine. She was not there.

Ally approached the group, silent, so quiet they did not notice her at first. It was Tara who saw her. She slowly put her arms around the young brunette, and Ally held her back, but she couldn't utter a word.

The first time mom died, she hadn't said a word in three days. She just sat on _his_ couch, a blanket around her, and stared at the shelves filled with old books. He threatened to force-feed her if she didn't eat at least one meal a day. Tactfulness wasn't one of his traits. He kept on bringing Chinese take-out, all three days.

Then the other one came. She liked his voice. She loved his accent. He could cheer her up even in the darkest of times. He kept her company, talked to her for hours even when she would only answer with nods and shakes of her head. She believed they thought she couldn't speak after the traumatic event, but eventually, after three days of mutism, she said 'Thank you' when _he_ brought the typical white rice and vegetable soup.

But not long after that, a few months, really, the other left. Forever. And she missed his voice, his accent, his funny ways. She still missed his voice. Why did the people she loved keep on leaving?

Because now she knew, mom was dead again.

Tara released her and stepped back, letting Buffy take her place. And then Willow, and Xander, and Giles.

Dawnie was last. She looked hesitant, and Ally still hadn't said anything. They stared at each other, none of them voicing their thoughts, none of them crying anymore. After a few seconds, Dawn shifted, her lips trembled and she threw herself at her new best friend. The eldest held her tighter that anyone else, hiding her face on her shoulder, just like Dawn was doing, and they just stayed there.

Just held each other.

* * *

Eventually, Giles left to take care of the paperwork, Dawn went to the bathroom and Xander, Anya and Willow went to grab some snacks for everyone, leaving Buffy, Tara and Ally sitting on the waiting room.

Buffy and Tara talked. The latter's mom had died when she was seventeen. She shared her experience, but they didn't try to involve Ally. They all knew she hadn't dealt with her parent's death very well.

When the trio came back, arms full of food and beverages, Ally didn't even hear what they said. She felt something was terribly wrong, and it was no only Joyce's absence.

Then the now eldest Summers stood up and went to look for her sister, but Ally noticed she didn't go right, to the bathrooms, but left. She felt a cold shiver run down her spine, and she got up to follow the blonde.

Something was wrong.

They both accelerated on the corridor leading to the autopsy room. They both felt it. Buffy didn't even tell her to stay back.

Something was very wrong.

And then they heard her. Dawnie. Screaming. Not a scream of anguish, but of fear. There was something else inside the room with her.

Vampire.

Buffy broke the latch that kept the door locked and barged into the room, the Potential on her heels. They had lost Joyce. They were not going to lose their sister too.

They pulled the vampire away from Dawn, who went tumbling against one of the tables with a covered body on top, pulling the sheet down with her fall. Ally went after her, leaving the Slayer to deal with the noob vampire; the only thing in her mind, making sure Dawn was not hurt. She couldn't lose her too.

And then they saw her. On the table, face uncovered. They didn't even notice the sound of the vampire turning to dust, or Buffy calling her sister quietly.

It was mom. Joyce. But she was not there anymore.

* * *

Ally went with them to choose a casket. She didn't really voice her opinion, she didn't have one. She didn't bury her parents. She was there for her sisters, Dawn, specially. In the last day, she had spent every waking second with her. She stayed over at their place, next to Dawn when she fell asleep, tears streaming down her cheeks even then. She just held her, the teen's head on her lap, Ally's hand on her hair.

She still hadn't uttered a word.

Giles was trying to be their pillar. He took care of as many things as he could, but Buffy knew that she was the one who had to take care of Dawn. He could only do so much. She was her sister. She had to be strong for her.

Then dinner came around. Willow and Xander joined them at the Summers residence, where none of the sisters ate much. Buffy was busy, making the arrangements for the funeral, and Dawn was still trying to work through the idea that her mom was not going to be there anymore.

They were all talking, quietly, but talking. Ally couldn't really follow the conversation. There was something about the girls' dad, and flowers, and a line to inform about the wake. She could perfectly hear what Dawn said, though. "What are we gonna do? After, I mean. Are we just gonna ... come back here?" Ally looked up at her, who was staring at the blonde, who kept going on about the wake. "I don't wanna be here." Dawn added, and the other brunette placed a hand on her arm in silent support. "Can I go to your place tomorrow?" She paused blinking a couple times. "After everything."

Ally nodded, her apartment was always available for the teen, but looked over at the Slayer, just in case.

"Can I?" The teen asked, taking Buffy by surprise for a moment, mouthing 'Huh?'. "Can I go to Ally's tomorrow after the service?"

Buffy looked at her new sister, uncertain, but the latter only nodded. It was no problem. "Um ... i-if you want to. I guess so."

Dawn got out of her seat, not very excited, still keeping quiet. "I'll, uh, get my sleeping bag out of the attic."

Sometime later, Ally could hear Xander's voice outside, but it was not nice. She raised from her seat and went to the door to see Spike standing in front of Xander and Willow, a bunch of flowers in his hand.

Her eyes watered again. The last day, they had only done that when Dawn cried. It was a bit of a domino effect. Dawn cried, Ally started crying, which only made Dawn cry more and hug her. At least they had each other's support.

But she hadn't seen Spike. And she had to admit, if only to herself, that she had missed him.

She could hear him and Xander argue then. "You actually think you're gonna score points with Ally this way?" How had he known about Spike's feelings? She hadn't told them. Maybe Dawn had?

"This isn't about Ally." The vampire assured, walking closer menacingly.

"Bull. We're all hip to your doomed obsession." The dark haired man continued to provoke him, not missing the hurt expression on the bleach blond's face.

Spike shook his head, wondering what his Ally Cat had told them about him. He thought they didn't know. Why would she tell them? To ridicule him? That was so not like her. "They're for Joyce." He corrected, pushing his worries to the side.

This made Xander spat. "Like you care about her."

Spike sighed angrily, about to lose it when Willow stepped between them, trying to keep them apart.

Why was Ally not moving from the other side of the door? Why didn't she go out, stop all that?

"Care? Joyce was the only one of the lot of you that I could stand." The vampire's voice raised, making the brunette flinch. The only one? Did he hate her now, after their last encounter in his crypt? _Get over it._ Maybe he had. Maybe he went from loving her to hating her. "I liked the lady. Understand, monkey boy? She was decent. She didn't put on airs. She always had a nice cuppa for me. And she never treated me like a freak."

"Her mistake." Xander muttered.

That was enough. The Potential opened the door just when Spike was about to throw the flowers to the ground. She slowly walked down the steps, everyone watching her quietly, but her eyes were set on the vampire. He didn't seem to hate her. No. She knew he didn't.

He was hurt. So was she. They were all mourning. Only her mourning carried a very unfortunate mutism, so everything was dead silent. She could only hear Xander's sharp intake of breath when she hugged Spike, burying her face on his chest, not even bothering to take in their reactions.

She had missed him.

When she stepped back from the hug he handed the flowers to her, whispering 'For Joyce'. She only nodded and went back inside, Spike marching back to his crypt, probably.

* * *

The funeral was solemn. It was a nice day out, clear skies and a gentle breeze blowing through the cemetery, so different during the day. There was a small group gathered around Joyce Summers' casket, her two daughters on the first line, their friends behind them. No one but the priest spoke. No one needed to.

Dawn and Ally walked to the latter's apartment once it was over, leaving Buffy alone. She wanted some alone time with her mom for the last time. She had to say goodbye.

The two young brunettes didn't say anything either, just walked, had some dinner and changed before going to bed. Dawn's sleeping bag was there, but she wasn't really going to use it. She felt safer with her head on the Potential's lap, her new sister's hands scratching her scalp, soothing her to sleep. Sometimes a tear escaped her eyes, and Ally's eyes watered too. Sometimes her lip trembled, and Ally's thumb stroke her temple.

How could they not have known each other for more than three months? How had they lived without their sister so long?

When Dawn's eyes had fluttered shut and her breathing had become even and slow, the eldest switched her bedside lamp off, staring at her blank wall even though she couldn't see anything. Eventually, she followed the teen's example and closed her eyes, letting sleep take over.

Dawn woke up in the middle of the night, the sound of her and Ally's breathing ringing in her ears. She couldn't just leave things like that. She couldn't give up on her mom. She needed her mom back. She was going to get her back.

Ally didn't need to know. She was still dealing with her own parent's death. As far a Dawn knew, she hadn't attempted to bring them back, so it was safe to think she wouldn't like the idea.

* * *

Breakfast was quiet. Dawn was still thinking of ways to bring her mom back, planning on where to look for resurrection spells, who she could tell. Ally was just quiet. She kissed her temple when Dawn joined her in the isle for breakfast, before setting the plate with pancakes down in front of her and digging in.

Giles was going to pick Dawn up later, take her to the store until Buffy called to get her home. She could look for a spell in his books. He had to have something useful.

* * *

Night fell and found the youngest Summers kneeling next to a patch of ground that had recently been stirred, pouring the contents of a blue flask over it.

"I hope it's just dirt you're after." A deep British voice made her jump in place, turning to find the black leather clad vampire she was so familiar with. "If the spell calls for anything more than that, you're into zombie territory, and that's bad news."

"Spike, I-I wasn't..." She stuttered, her hands trembling, fear taking over. Fear of being discovered by someone else.

"I know good and well what you're up to. That book you've got is infamous." His gaze made her cower, he was unaffected.

"Please ... don't tell Buffy and Ally. I just ... I have to get her back." Her voice broke, turning into a sob. "I have to."

"I'm not gonna tell, little bit." He assured her, jaw setting. "I'm gonna help."

* * *

Later that night, vampire and teenager walked through the streets of Sunnydale, the sound of raindrops hitting the ground their only company.

"I've never used this bloke's services myself, but there's talk. Word is he knows everything there is to know about resurrection spells." The bleach blond explained, looking over his shoulder at the kid. Dawn seemed to be a little nervous, unsure. "Come on now, no worries."

She almost rolled her eyes at this. "You don't have to be all nice to me. I know why you're doing this." She said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"Do you now? Enlighten me." He shrugged it off, not really caring about it.

Dawn frowned and stopped walking, staring at the neutered vampire. "Spike, I'm not stupid. You're, like, stalking my sister." The soulless demon stopped, turning to glance at her. "Ally." She cleared up, just in case. She had taken to calling her 'her sister' in her mind, but not everyone would understand it. "You'd do anything to get in good with her."

Spike stepped closer, his face firmly set. "Ally never hears about this, okay? Found out what I was doing, she'd drive a redwood through my chest." It hurt to think of his friend doing that, but he knew that he was doing something big.

The brunette, on the other hand, was thoroughly surprised. "Then, if you don't want credit, why are you helping me?"

His gaze fell, feeling inadequate, for all his evilness that he claimed to have, this went against everything he had stood for before. "I just don't like to see Summers women take it so hard on the chin, is all. And Ally Cat is one more of you, I know." He stared at her again, voice raising in anger. "And I'm dead serious. You breathe a word of this to Ally or Buffy, I'll see to it that _you_ end up in the ground. Got it?" Not like he would ever really do that. He liked the little bit, and it would break his love even more to lose her sister.

"Yeah. Got it." The teen accepted, eyes going from the ground to the blond.

* * *

They arrived at a run-down office kind of room, full of books and dirt, black cat included, smelling of something old. Inside, a toad like faced old man welcomed them, babbling about how he knew Spike, but not as a vampire and with another hair colour. They told him of the teen's situation and he at first said it wasn't something they wanted to mess with, but eventually gave in and started pacing around the room, humming to himself.

The old man explained what they needed for the spell, how to do it, and finished off with a warning. "It's a tricky spell, girl. I can't say for sure your mother will come back exactly like she was. Sometimes these ... things ... get a little off."

"But she'll still be my mother." That was all Dawn could think about, yet doubt was starting to get in her, making her frown. "Won't she?"

The man glanced at the vampire, then back at the girl. "More or less."

He told them where to find one of the ingredients, very rare, a Ghora demon's egg, and they were on their way.

* * *

Spike wasn't at the crypt and Ally was disappointed. She wanted to see him. But he could be anywhere, after all, it was night time. That was stroll time for the vampire.

He had to come back sometime before the sun rose again. She could wait. She laid down on the couch, tired, yet still reluctant to fall asleep. She had been training almost all day, getting the sorrow and despair out of her system through the punching bag. Or at least trying to. She knew her arms would be sore after that, specially her left shoulder. She had put too much pressure on it.

The door opened with a bang and she rose from her makeshift bed, looking over the back to see her vampire stumbling in.

He was wounded. Actually, physically wounded.

She shot up, hurrying over to his side to find him holding his right hand to his left side, were there were several visible tears on his t-shirt, forming a half circle. What the hell had he been up to?

She helped him to the couch and took his coat off, looking around for a first aid kit or any kind of bandages. There was one white box next to the fridge, it had to be it. Once she was back on the couch, she took his shirt off, ignoring the sly look he shot her before wincing when she pressed a few clean sanitary rags to his gashes. They were perfectly shaped, like a crescent moon. Was it a bite mark? Huge demonic dog bite mark?

Soon the bleeding stopped, thanks to vampire healing, and she wrapped his torso in a few bandages, still not gazing up at his face. She could feel him watching her every movement, knew he was going to question her later, but she couldn't care at the moment.

Once he was all taken care of, she got up from the couch and looked for his ever present bottle of liquor, usually whisky, and gave it back to him, letting herself fall down on the couch next to him.

All was quiet for a few moments, but you couldn't really expect Spike to keep that up for long.

"What...?" He started, only to be interrupted by the girl shifting closer and resting her head on his shoulder, snuggled up to his good side. She shushed him, placing one hand on the other side of his neck, her arm laying across his bandaged chest.

She had been awfully quiet the last couple times he'd seen her, after what happened with Joyce. Was it some kind of coping mechanism? Why didn't she say something?

He waited for her to decide to start talking, if only to ask him what he had been doing to end up like that. Yet, she didn't. He couldn't think it was because she didn't care, after all she just taped him, he had seen the concern in her face.

About an half hour later he realized she had nodded out. She was comatose, curled up to him. He decided to enjoy her warmth while he could.

* * *

She just up and left. He couldn't believe it. He was not a bloody pillow for her to use whenever she felt like and then not even say goodbye! He was furious. Was he just a commodity for her? Just a shoulder to cry on? What the bleeding hell was wrong with her?!

He jumped down the hole that led to the lower level, seeing red, not even noticing the note that had flown from the couch when he got up and was then beneath the piece of furniture, its corner sticking out from under it.

He was so gonna get her, either if she realized or not. His order was already in place.

* * *

Her mutism had lasted a full four days. Her first word after the long silence was 'Dawnie'. Most days were spent in the Summers' residence or the Magic Box, she barely set foot on her apartment anymore, choosing to stay with her sisters even at night. She only stopped by to pick up clean clothes, do laundry and make sure the food she had didn't go to waste. Luckily, she didn't have companion animals to feed and play with.

She had seen Spike once in the last ten days. He seemed a bit off to her, only helping her deal with a group of vampires before stalking off. But she had been with Xander and Giles then, patrolling instead of Buffy, so she didn't go after him. The men accompanying her were looking at him a bit too seriously. What was going on with them?

Giles had been assessing her abilities as a Slayer during the patrols. He was pleasantly surprised by her skills, yet he tried to make sure she didn't overexert herself, as she had been spending a lot of time training lately.

But Buffy needed time away from the slaying, and she needed to be up for the job when she wasn't there. She had to give her best to even be able to compare herself with the true Slayer.

She seemed to be doing a good job, as she had heard the vampires refer to her as 'the mini Slayer'. She hated the nickname, but it also brought a certain satisfaction at having earned a reputation among the evil crawlies of Sunnydale.

* * *

There she was. Same dark wavy hair, even the freckles across the bridge of her nose. Her attire looked like any other of her outfits; military boots, dark jeans and a blue t-shirt, topped with a black informal jacket. She was standing in front of him with her eyes closed, preventing him from seeing if they were her same bright grey eyes, but judging from the rest, he would go with yes. "Some say it's better'n the real thing."

Warren, the twitchy tech genius next to him, immediately agreed. "Better than the real thing."

"She looks good, but what about the rest?" He asked, still staring at the AllyBot. "A little walk, a little talk... perhaps a zippy cartwheel..."

"Hey, she's, uh, great. You'll be real happy, I swear, she's got everything you asked for. All the extra programming, tons of real-world knowledge, the profiles you gave me about her friends." The creator assured, standing a bit behind the vampire.

" _All_ the extra programming, right?"

"Ah, the, the stuff that you wanted, the, uh, scenario responses, you know, the, uh, uh, special ... skills ... All of it. Now, you said that I could leave-" He made for the door, but Spike grabbed his arm, preventing him from escaping.

"Wait. I'm not sure I'm a satisfied customer. She looks a little shiny to me, you know, uh... touch of plasticine..." The bot's eyes popped open, looking straight at him. They were just the same, just like he thought.

"Spike?" Her voice sounded so hopeful, her lips stretching into a huge smile, it wasn't hard to miss the falseness. Yet the vampire did. "Oh, Spike!" She hurried over to him, putting her hands on his shoulder and kissing him on the mouth, soon pulling back with the same huge smile.

"She'll do". The bleach blond declared.


	6. Chapter 6

Back in his crypt, Spike faced the AllyBot, sitting on his couch, holding a book in her lap. Nevermind the book was turned upside down, she was just pretending to read. It was part of their game.

"What you reading, Ally Cat?" He asked, smirking, knowing how the game would go.

"I'm studying." She asked in a very even voice, similar to AprilBot's.

"Studying what?" He could feel the anticipation for her words, his needless breath catching in his throat when she looked up and gave him a seductive look.

"How to please you. In every possible way." She left the book on the side and got up, nearing him like a panther stalking its pray.

"You should be afraid of me. I'm bad." His voice had turned rough, husky, his eyes trailing her body, following her curves.

"You are. You're very, very bad." Then she grabbed him and threw him to the couch, jumping on top of him, straddling him.

"And you like that." He whispered in her ear before lifting her with his hands beneath her thighs, her legs holding onto his waist.

"There's not one thing I don't like about you, you fiend." She half-moaned while he took them to the tomb-turned-bed, comforter and all. He left her on top of it, climbing after her and kissing her passionately, making her mewl before his tongue dipped into her mouth.

His lips moved to her neck, sliding down her body, making her moan with every flick of his tongue. "Ally..." He almost prayed, lost in the moment, completely forgetting it was not the real her.

He would take what he could.

* * *

Ally was in her apartment, getting ready for the patrol that night. Buffy was out of town with Giles, in some kind of Slayer retreat in the desert, and the rest of the Gang was taking care of Dawn, even though a couple of them were going to go out to stake some vamps too. She was the one who was meant to do it in the absence of the real Slayer, anyways. She was a Potential. It was her duty, even without being activated.

Maybe she could drop by Spike's place. See what was wrong with him.

* * *

Spike and the AllyBot were on the floor of the crypt, his hair all messed up, both covered with a comforter. "You're evil." AllyBot said, laying on her side, her back to the vampire.

"And that excites you?" He asked, head lifted and resting on his hand, elbow to the ground so he could look at the copy of his love, his arm going around her waist.

"It excites me, it terrifies me ... I try so hard to resist you and I can't."

"Yeah?" He grinned, licking his lips.

"Darn your sinister attraction." She lightly cursed, not too convincingly, except for the lovesick man who only had eyes for her.

He, on the other hand, lost his grin, turning serious. "Are you afraid of me?"

"Yes." She replied with a big smile, chiselled to perfection by the tech genius.

Spike's voice dropped down a notch, his face getting closer to her. "You know I can't bite you."

"I think you can. I think you can if I let you, and I want to let you. I want you to bite me and devour me until there's no more."

He smiled at this, boosting his confidence. "Like this?" He bit her neck lightly, making her moan again and smile.

"Oh, Spike, devour me!"

"All right." He agreed pulling her on her back and looming over her, facing her completely.

"Spike, I can't help myself. I love you." Those words, those three words had him going insane, fire raging through his veins in a wave of possessiveness.

"You're mine, Ally."

The Bot had to go an ruin the moment. "Should I start this program over?"

He shushed her, frowning at the AllyBot, which was only that, a robot. He hated to be reminded of that. "No programs. Don't use that word. Just be Ally."

* * *

That same night, unbeknownst to the soundly sleeping Spike, his AllyBot got dressed and ready to go out. "Time to slay."

* * *

Right around the same time, the real Ally stepped out of her home, heading to another one of Sunnydale's cemeteries, wanting to cover as much ground as possible before going to Spike's place.

* * *

Anya and Xander were patrolling the graveyard Spike lived in, soon coming face to face with the AllyBot, twirling her stake between her fingers.

"Hey there!" The bot greeted them, exceptionally cheery.

"Alls!" The man half-smiled, not noticing anything yet.

"Xander!" She shot back, smiling goofily. "And... Anya! How's your money?"

The ex demon laughed in surprise. They had gotten well almost from the beginning, as Ally didn't have anything against peaceful demons or reformed ones, she was very friendly with her. "Fine. Thank you for asking."

"Isn't it a beautiful night for killing evil things?"

Xander was beginning to find her behaviour a bit weird, but still stayed nice. "I guess."

"You're here very early." Anya noted.

"Yeah, we thought you were going to take the south first." The man added, frowning lightly at the young Potential.

"No. But thank you for asking." The bot replied, making Xander look confused, then continued. "You're my friend, and a carpenter."

Then Spike appeared from somewhere behind the bot, running towards them. "Hey! Wait up!"

"Spike!" AllyBot turned, looking at the bleach blond happily, then back to the couple. "It's Spike. And he's wearing a coat."

Said vampire was still panting from the race, trying to cover for his lover's awkwardness. "Yes. Uh... hello all." AllyBot tried to take his hand but he pulled away as discreetly as he could, not being able to wipe the loving expression from her face. "Uh, Ally's taking over, I see. Lots of patrolling all around tonight, then, is it? Uh, I'm glad you're all here, uh, 'cause, uh, 'cause... the place is crawling with vamps tonight. Uh, tons of 'em. I, uh, think we oughta split up."

Right in time, three vampires turned around the corned, menacingly closing on them.

"You're right." Anya admitted, surprisingly for even the not-really-convincing liar.

"Yep, guess so." The neutered vamp agreed.

All four of them fought the new arrivals, Xander and Anya having a bit of trouble with their vamp.

Little did they know, Glory's minions were watching from among the trees, thinking the mini Slayer, as the local demons had taken to call her, was also protecting the Key. And she seemed to care a lot about a certain blond in a black leather coat. "Spike, be careful!" She shouted before kicking an attacker, sending him flying backwards. Not a minute later she turned to watch her lover struggling with his opponent. "No, get away from him."

Once the attackers were done for, the four gathered again, Spike speaking up before the bot did something weird. "I think that was probably the big action for the night. You two can toddle on home if you want."

"Uh... Ally?" Xander asked, only trusting the Potential to assess the level of danger that night.

"Yes." She smiled, ticking Xander. He felt like something was wrong with her. "Spike and I will do it alone. You guys head home."

Spike waited until the couple was going to walk around the bot and face his lover again looking like he was planning something. The AllyBot, on the other hand, squirmed, uncomfortable. "I don't understand this. I-I did the slaying. I should be..."

"Satisfied?" He finished for her, leering.

The bot pouted, nodding. "But I'm not. I-I'm all" she squirmed again, moving her shoulders. "my skin is all hot. Do I look hot to you?"

"Always." He promised, unable to take his eyes off her.

"You better feel me to make sure." She suggested seductively, smirking.

"I can do that."

She threw her arms around his neck, joining him in a heated kiss, body pulled flush against his.

* * *

A few minutes later, Xander and Anya found them grinding against each other, Ally pulled up with her back on a wall, moaning with his lips latched to her neck. "Oh Spike. You're the big bad." The AllyBot exclaimed, horrifying the witnesses, who soon located her jeans on the floor a couple feet from the oblivious couple. "You're the _big_ bad!"

* * *

The real Ally was completely unaware of the situation on the other side of town, deep in a fight with a small gang of newbie vampires. The place was unusually active, she had already killed another three right at the entrance.

So she really had no idea her friends were telling her other friends they had seen 'her' banging Spike. Or that Xander was going to tell said vampire to stay away from her.

* * *

The youngest male of the Scooby Gang entered the crypt, ready to face Captain Peroxide and protect his friend.

"Oh, it's you." Spike exclaimed at seeing him, not even surprised.

The dark haired man closed the door behind him, confronting the bleach blond. "I saw you ... in the cemetery with Ally."

"Yeah? Can't see how it's any business of yours."

"It is my business because Ally's my friend .. and she's gone through some stuff lately that ... well, it's affected her, and you're taking advantage of her." He accused, nearing the culprit.

Spike only sighed, not giving it a lot of importance. She's upset about Joyce. He took a drag on his cigarette before continuing. "And if she turns to me for comfort, well, I'm not gonna deny it to her. I'm not a monster."

Xander disagreed. "Yes. You are a monster. Vampires are monsters. They make monster movies about them." He fully neared him and grabbed him by the front of his shirt. "Spike, Ally has lots of friends, and we love her very much, and we'll do whatever it takes to protect her. Now if that means killing you, then, well, that's just a bonus."

Suddenly, the door opened and Glory's minions came in, punching Xander in the gut, getting rid of him easily and several times, while Spike fought them with all his might, only to be restrained by quite a few of them, thinking he was the Key and therefore the hell god needed him intact.

* * *

Ally, the real one, run into a nasty vampire on the way towards Spike's graveyard, getting a bad hit on her left shoulder. She needed to rest for a bit, and she was closer to Xander's apartment than any other safe place, so she decided to head there, knowing everyone would be there.

She was a bit surprised by Willow's attitude, getting her to the balcony to talk without disturbing the others, sleeping. Ally leant against the railing, clutching her shoulder while Willow handed her some pain meds and a glass of water, looking a bit nervous.

"Did Xander find you? He-he was looking for you."

Xander? She had no idea why he would be looking for her. They hadn't talked since the morning. She swallowed the meds and water in one swig before answering. "No. I didn't see him."

"He hasn't come back. Anya sat up waiting. Alls, we... I know you're going through a rough time, but I wanna help you. This-this is crazy. You know we're here for you, right? You can come to me if you need anything."

"Thanks. You're a good friend." She smiled, feeling the chemicals working already, before being alerted by Xander getting into the apartment and waking everyone up.

Will and her joined the other witch and ex demon in the room, waiting for what Xander had to say. His girlfriend immediately went to him, concerned. "Oh, Xander, I was scared, are you hurt? What happened?"

"Guys ... demony kinds of guys. Ally. The guys that work for Glory, Buffy said they're kind of like hobbits with leprosy?" Buffy had updated her on the whole Glory thing after the showdown at the hospital, and she had researched her and her minions at the Magic Box. "Well this was a whole flock of hobbits, and they just grabbed Spike. I think they're taking him to Glory."

"But he, he knows about Dawn." Willow realized, grimacing, imagining Glory finding out about their little girl. Her long time friend nodded.

Ally's chest felt constricted for a moment, thinking about what they would do to him to get the information they wanted. "We have to get him back." She didn't miss the disturbed look the redhead shot at her, but she had been behaving strangely since she arrived at the apartment.

"So how do we find him?" Xander looked at the Potential, and she felt the weight of her duty on her shoulders. They were expecting her to guide them, to lead them as a true Slayer.

"First we need weapons." She decided, hugging her middle.

It was almost light out.

* * *

They went to the Summers' house, were a big chest in the living room held all kinds of weapons, Xander delivering them among the group.

"I think Buffy has more in her room. I'll go get some." She announced, leaving the group that had been acting very weird around her all the way to the house. What was going on with them?

* * *

Not two minutes later, the AllyBot arrived at the house, looking for Spike, thinking Xander, the last one to have visited him, would know where her lover was. She was joined by Buffy, back from her retreat, at the front porch.

"Hey, Alls. What are you doing here? It's early." She was hugging her coat to her, hanging from her arm, looking all the bit tired from her trip.

"I'm looking for Spike." AllyBot informed her, making her frown.

"It's day time. Why would he be here?"

"He's not at the crypt. Xander should know where to find him."

They entered the house, finding Xander, Willow and Anya in the living room, looking through her weapons' chest.

"Whoa. Group hang time?" The Slayer asked, making them all look up and see the Potential next to her, surprised at her speed.

"Tha-that was quick." Willow admitted, to which the blonde scoffed.

"Didn't seem like it to me. Death is my gift."

"No-no, we don't mean you, we mean her." Xander pointed at the brunette. "Ally, we need to talk."

The Slayer looked alarmed, her gaze flickering between the little group and her newest sister. "What's wrong?"

"Ally, we care about you, and we're worried about you. The way you're acting, the things you're doing..." The dark haired male started, ready to turn into the big brother figure.

"It's wrong." Anya interrupted him.

"Wait. This shouldn't be about blame." Willow stepped in, Buffy going insane from everyone talking.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?" She demanded, getting annoyed.

"Ally is having sex with Spike." Anya informed her, not taking care of her rude ways, as always.

"What?!" Buffy screeched, the AllyBot turning towards her. "Why would you do that?"

"I love Spike. Spike's mine. We have to find Spike." The bot nodded, not understanding the horrified expression on the eldest Summers' face.

The real Ally came running down the stairs with an huge ax held high, having heard the yelling. "What's with the screaming? What's going...? Whoa." She came to a halt at seeing her doppelganger, flabbergasted.

"Oh my god." Buffy muttered, astonished.

The bot smiled at her image, who was staring at her. "You look just like me! We're very pretty."

Willow just lost it, her hands flying up to her face. "Two of them!"

"Hey, I know this! They're both Ally!" He pointed at them, thinking it was a repeat of what happened to him.

Buffy shook her head, annoyed at him for not being able to tell the difference. "No, _she_ " she pointed at the lovesick Ally obsessed with finding Spike. "is a robot. She acts just like that girlfriend-bot that Warren guy made."

"You guys couldn't tell me apart from a robot?" Ally asked, only starting to realize why they had been acting so awkwardly around her.

"I don't think I'm a robot." The AllyBot tilted her head, confused.

Xander started to explain what they were all thinking. "Spike must have had her built so he could program her t..."

Buffy couldn't take the image, horrified at the idea. "Oh god."

"Yikes. Imagine the things..." Will was certainly doing it, her face contorted, hands shaking with disgust.

Ally could help but feel embarrassed, all of them thinking about someone with her face doing... "No! No, no imagining. Any of you."

Xand had to go and make it worse for her. "Already got the visual."

The AllyBot intervened, trying to get them to focus. "People. Friends of mine. You're forgetting the most important thing. Glory has Spike and she's going to harm him."

"Glory has Spike?" Buffy hadn't received that piece of information, and it certainly worried her, not for him, but for what he knew.

"We were gonna bring that up." The only male said, laughing nervously.

"We were getting weapons." His girlfriend explained, looking at the chest.

"Grab 'em. We're going now. I have to kill him."

Ally was about to stop her, unable to understand why that was the first priority for the Slayer, but Willow beat her to it. "We don't even know where to look."

Buffy seemed to ponder for a moment, looking up at them soon. "I know where to start."

* * *

A couple hours later, Buffy, Xander and Ally barged into one of the mansions, crossbow and axes ready, to find the bitch's minions next to a staircase, all ready for them. Ally thanked the universe for her recent intensive training, because even though the things were gross and dressed like monks, they knew how to fight. They were soon joined by Giles and the AllyBot, the latter still blabbering about Spike and only Spike, catching the Potential's attention when she stopped in front of the lift, doors open.

She could see a slumped form on the ground, but the bot was in the middle. She made quick work of the minion opposing her and run to the lift, helping Giles on the way. The last couple of minions escaped upstairs, letting Ally reach her battered friend, bloody and a huge mess.

* * *

Xander had to help the Potential take the vampire to his lair, as he was almost completely unable to walk by himself. For the first time since the man had known the bleach blond, he was quiet. He tried to get him to talk, at least to tell them if he'd revealed the Key's identity to Glory, but Ally cut him with a shake of her head. "I'll take care of everything." She assured, right around the time they got the blanket covered mess into his crypt, pushing him up onto a tomb.

By the time Xander left, the cuts and bruises in the vampire's face had swelled up. He seemed to barely be aware of his surroundings, flinching when Ally approached him with the first aid kit.

"Shh. It's just me. I'm gonna clean up those cuts. You look like a meatbag straight out of the slaughterhouse." She slid her hand into his, squeezing lightly and tracing circles with her thumb on his skin. At least the hands didn't seem to have been damaged; except for some chain marks around the wrists, nothing else.

The brunette carefully treated the cuts on his face first, seeing him shrink and wince every time she got near them, but he didn't resist it. A couple times, Ally could swear she had heard him snarl, yet he at least tried to keep it low, not scare her away. When she reached the already closing hole in his chest, his whole body tensed and she had to place her hand on his stomach, rubbing until he relaxed and she could take care of the rest of wounds.

"Spike..." She had been thinking about how to start their conversation since she'd gotten to him at the mansion, after the battle. She still had squat, but she had to give it a try. "What happened?"

"The hell bitch's minions... thought I was the Key." His battered lips barely moved, swollen as they were, and his voice was strained, like it took all of what he had to say just a word. "Looks like they... didn't know vamp... equals impure. Then the hell bitch thought... I at least had some info on it."

"Did you tell her?" Her voice was only a whisper and she was sure that, hadn't he been a vampire, he wouldn't have been able to understand her.

"No." His voice gained strength and he struggled to sit up, Ally's hand coming behind his shoulders to help. "She's your sister. Anything happened to Dawn, it'd destroy you. I couldn't live, you bein' in that much pain. Let Glory kill me first. Nearly bloody did."

Her eyes watered, mixed feelings invading her. He loved her, he really did, but he had also gotten that bot to do whatever he wanted with her image, and it was disgusting. Yet... right now, he could get away with anything; he had saved Dawn, he was ready to die if it meant protecting her, because she was important for Ally.

She leaned forward and brushed her lips against his, not applying to much pressure to avoid hurting him. He leaned down, closer to her, before pulling back and looking at her through bruised and swollen eyelids.

"Thank you. Thank you..." The words were shaken, her lower lip trembling with emotion. "I won't forget what you did, what you went for, for Dawnie and me. Ever." She promised, taking a step back to assess his injuries again. His arm had definitely something wrong to it. "Is it broken?" She asked, placing her fingertips on his forearm carefully.

"Think so."

"Want a sling?" She looked around the 'room" in search of something that could be used as one while he nodded slowly, hunching over, looking like any and every posture brought him a lot of pain. "Whisky and pain meds?" She added, seeing his face visibly light up, even in its current state. "I'll be back as soon as possible, lie back down." She assisted him before placing a soft kiss in his forehead and leaving the crypt.

* * *

The lights were dim, flickering, alive. It was fire. The flames were dancing on the walls, making the pillars cast sinister shadows across the floors. The room was warm, yet cool at the same time.

It took her a moment to realize she had fallen asleep at the crypt yet again. She had been doing that quite often the last couple of weeks, taking care of Spike, getting him blood from the butcher's when he couldn't walk, buying new _Passions_ videotapes. He kept telling her to stop smothering him, but she felt responsible for what happened to him. Because she was. He did it for her. And she could never pay him back, no matter what.

She sat up, the comforter sliding down her body and causing a shiver to run down her spine. The contrast was really the worst, it was not that cold. She was on the couch again, Spike must have moved her from her spot on top of the tomb, where the book she had been reading still lay, yet she couldn't see him. Had he gone out? It was still night time.

He had gotten much better already. Vampire healing was an immense advantage, but Ally still made sure to clean his wounds daily and spend some time with him. She had barely seen the Gang in quite some time. She should probably go back now that the bleach blond could take care of himself and actually go out on his own, even though he had a limp.

And she was aching for a good fight. Good thing her magic wand was always with her.

Time to go back to her previous routine.

* * *

Buffy was worried. Dawn was not attending school and she didn't know how to get her to. And if she didn't set things right, they were going to take her sister away from her. She needed help. She had to be a grown up. She couldn't do it alone.

"Please? I can't... I can't deal with everything, I already dropped out of college and... I don't know what to do..." The Slayer begged, sitting on the couch, in her living room, holding the Potential's hand.

The brunette smiled softly, glad that the blonde had asked her for help, that she knew she could rely on Ally. "You know I will. I'll take care of anything to do with school work. You focus on... the rest of the stuff." She squeezed the Chosen One's hands and shifted on her seat, getting more serious. "There's already enough on your shoulders, Buff. Besides, I love the things she studies. I get all excited about her homework. I'll pick her up from school and help her do her homework, first thing. I'll keep a planner with her exam dates or project deadlines. Everything will be alright."

"You're happier about this than I expected." Buffy joked, catching onto her friend's excitement.

"Come on, an excuse to use a planner again. Colour coding, using sticky notes, making schedules! I love it." She smiled brightly and looked at the time. "I'll get right on it. I'll go get little Dawnie." She winked at the Slayer and jumped up from the couch, skipping to the door. "We'll be back soon!"

Buffy knew that Ally could make it better. Dawn didn't see her as a authoritative figure, someone trying to take mom's place. Ally was her friend, her sister. She understood her better than Buffy did. And Dawn needed that right then. Buffy did too. She needed her empathetic sister, one that could understand her, her duty, her burden. Because she bore it too. She was the middle ground between the Summers sisters. A new Summers girl.

* * *

"Ally!" She heard Dawn before she spotted her. She was running straight at her, her bag bouncing up and down at the movement.

She had immediately seen her sister. She stood out among the students getting out of school, heading home. There was no one else who could rock military boots, worn out jean shorts and an old looking AC/DC t-shirt like her. She looked kinda menacing, standing there with her arms crossed across her chest, inspecting her surroundings. The teen noticed boys from her class staring at her, yet Ally wouldn't ever begin to care about that. And the Potential had come looking for _her_.

Ally instantly smiled at the sight of her baby sister. She lunged herself at the eldest, hugging her tightly. "Whoa. I see you missed me, Dawnie." The wannabe slayer chuckled, throwing and arm over the teen's shoulders and beginning to head to the Summers residence.

"I was thinking it was Buffy who would come pick me up, to make sure I was at school and all that." She grumbled, eyes fixed on the ground before her.

"Buffy is worried. We've decided that I'm going to help you with school work, drop you off and pick you up, and she'll take care of the house, the meals and all the rest of the stuff. Cut her some slack, Dawnie. She's going through a rough time too, plus she's got all the Slayer things to worry about on top of it all." Ally held the kid tighter against her side, lowering her voice. "And you're going to go back to class, promise?"

She thought about it for a moment, not daring to look her in the eye until she spoke. "Yeah. I promise."

* * *

Buffy was about to leave the house when they arrived, telling them to get to Spike's as soon as possible.

It was Tara.


	7. Chapter 7

Not only had the hell bitch brain-sucked Tara, she had found Dawn. She knew it was Dawn. Buffy and her had barely made it out of the campus and away from Glory. What were they going to do?

Leave town. And they needed help if they wanted to stand a chance should the god find them again.

That's how the Scooby Gang and Spike had ended up in a camping trailer, on a desperate road trip away from Sunnydale.

Spike was sitting on the floor in front of a sliding door behind which Buffy was doing who-knows-what. Ally was next to him, sitting on the couch, squeezing Dawn's hand to keep her relatively calm, her free hand resting near her vampire's head. The same one who was getting on Xander's every last nerve, who was already in a pitiful state, looking like he might puke all over the tiny table.

The bleach blond had made some comment about getting the now three Summers sisters out of town in a Porsche, making the dark haired guy glare at him.

"What?" Spike snapped. Ally was quite sure he was just bored and picking on Xander kept him entertained, but she just sighed and let her head fall back against the wall.

"Would you give it a rest or...?" The man started, trying to keep the contents of his stomach down.

"Or what, you're gonna toss your cookies on my shoes?" The vamp provoked, earning him a light smack from his love.

"Or you can be undead man walking. See how fast you can hitch a ride with a flaming" he paused, gulping, Ally looking at him uneasily. "thumb."

The Potential just shook her head, tired of their bickering. Why couldn't they just stay quiet, sleep some? She hadn't slept since Tara had been attacked, that made... maybe near forty-eight hours. Not like she could, but if they did... that would give the others a rest.

Spike had to have the last word. He was just such a kid. "Fine. Shrimp."

Xander seemed to give up and move over to the front of the trailer, Spike soon taking his seat in front of Ally and Dawn.

Ally felt her eyes getting heavy, wondering if they had any coffee. She could do with a gallon of espresso. Maybe more. She couldn't even focus on the conversation going on around her, letting her eyes fly up to the ceiling. What were they going to do?

She heard Spike scream and shot her gaze back at him, standing on the other side of the trailer, away from the rays of sunlight Tara had let in when trying to look outside. His hand was smoking, held out in front of him, all of him tense in pain.

Like before.

But he wasn't complaining and cursing every living soul. He was playing it down, understanding Tara had meant no harm. "No biggie. Look, the skin's already stopped smoking. You go ahead and play ... peek-a-boo with Mister Sunshine all you like. It keeps the ride from getting boring."

That was sweet. He was sweet. Mr. Big Bag and Evil, being all kind and forgiving. She hadn't really seen him be rude to the witches or Dawn. Not even Anya, that she remembered. Xander, yeah, and Buffy and him couldn't stand each other most of the time. But he was nice to the other girls. She didn't realize she had a tiny smile in her face, watching him. He did, though he didn't say anything.

* * *

Sometime later, Ally had to move to let Dawn go see Buffy, so she decided to stand next to Spike, looking at his hand.

"Is it better?" She asked, her arm brushing against his leather clad one.

"Yeah. Should be fine soon." He seemed to be about to add something else when his head perked up, tilting it.

Then Buffy and Dawn burst out of the back 'room', agitated, shouts coming from the outside.

"Giles!" The Slayer rushed forward, stopping near the front.

"I see them." The Watcher assured, gripping the wheel tight in his hands.

"See who?" The vamp and Potential inquired at the same time, getting an odd look from Buffy.

One arrow was suddenly imbedded where the vampire had been just a second earlier.

"Arrows!" Xander voiced, going into a frenzy.

"Bloody hell!" Spike exclaimed, getting Ally away from the wall and to the centre of the cabin.

More arrows were shot at them, making the Slayer and Potential get Dawn and the witches under the table, trying to get them as safe as possible. The vampire and slayers got the weapons bag, struggling to keep their balance while Giles aimed to hit the horse-riding knights surrounding the caravan.

Then a sword pierced the ceiling near Xander, the man jumping out of his seat. Buffy and Ally looked up, the latter moving back a bit, farther from the first hole. The sword appeared again, Buffy ordering everyone to stay low and watch out for the next hit.

And just then, the patch over Ally's head was broken, the sword coming straight down at her. Spike's hands shot up, preventing the sword from getting to her, and she knew that she wouldn't have ducked in time to avoid it.

"Now might be a good time for something heroic." The bleach blond suggested, holding the blade so the knight couldn't get it back, giving Buffy time to go up to the roof and fight him.

Eventually, the sword got free, slicing the vampire's hands and making him scream in pain again. His hands seemed to be suffering continually. The two young brunettes made him sit down, tearing through rags to wrap his hands and stop the bleeding.

When the sound of something metallic hitting the side of the trailer made her head whip up, Ally knew Buffy was going to have more opponents soon. She couldn't let her to fight them all. What if she couldn't take them all?

"Xander." She called, gesturing toward the hatch with a shake of her head. "I need a boost."

"You're going up there?" He stared incredulously at her. One thing was the actual Slayer getting into a moving rooftop fight, but the Potential...

"Buffy needs help." She answered plainly.

He nodded, understanding, and helped her up, the brunette soon joining her sister.

As she had thought, more knights were getting on the moving vehicles with grappling hooks, dressed as if they worked at the renaissance fair. Well, this was going to be a new experience.

The first of the new knights climbed on to the roof and faced the girl, swinging an ax at her. She ducked from his first attempt of slicing her head and aimed at his gut, kicking him and sending him tumbling backwards, then sweeping her leg under his to make him fall on his back. She looked over her shoulder to see Buffy doing a back flip and hitting the knight she was facing in the process, getting back on her feet right next to her.

"Switch." She decided, letting the Potential take over, turning to focus on the new arrival, standing up with an axe held tight.

Ally punched the knight with the sword, dodging a slash and grabbing his arm when it went past her, using a strong hit with her knee to bend the elbow inwards, breaking a couple bones, hearing them crack. He dropped his sword, screaming in agony, and she sent him flying from the roof with one kick to the stomach.

She looked over at Buffy, seeing her get her enemy's ax and throwing him to the road, then sending the ax flying at what Ally at first thought was her face, only for a second later to hear a man cry out behind her, falling from the stairs leading up to the roof from the outside.

The knights seemed to leave after that, until they saw a single one holding a lance coming from the front, hurling it through the window shield and probably hitting Giles, as not a couple seconds later the trailer bolted, throwing the slayers off the vehicle and onto the ground, only to witness the metallic mobile home turn abruptly and crash on its side, halting its movement.

And, for a moment, everything the girls could see and hear was the dust from the wreck.

* * *

They rushed to an abandoned looking gas station, Giles gravely injured on his side, Spike about to get fried in the sun and all of them looking for some kind of shelter to rest for a minute. Things kept getting worse and worse. Their vehicle was trashed, the only way to get far from there somewhat efficiently, and their father figure was badly hurt, bleeding profusely. All of them sustained some kind of bruise or cut, but nothing like Giles.

Still, they couldn't just give up. They had a hell god and a religious order on their tails. There was no time to rest and relax. No way of getting to safety. No goal for them but to protect Dawn and stay alive.

It was all that mattered.

Spike and Xander set Giles on top of a counter, Willow pressing a rag to his wound, worried sick about their father figure. Buffy was fretting over Dawn, then moving onto her Watcher, while Ally approached the vampire. The slashes on his hands were covered with rags, tied tight and stained with blood.

"How are you?" She asked quietly, not wanting to bother the rest. They would obviously not like the fact that she cared for the bleach blond's wellbeing, even if he had come to help protect them, saved her from getting a sword embed into her skull and walked outside during day time covering himself with a blanket that didn't prevent him from smoking.

"Been better. They'll heal." He shrugged, playing cool. "Had worse."

"I bet you have." She smirked and turned around, taking in everything about the building. There wasn't much that could be useful in case of an attack, it was deserted, basically. No chairs, knifes, anything.

Just then, a lit arrow broke through one of the wooden planks covering the windows and ended up on the inner wall, sending them all into a frenzy. Buffy got Dawn to cover behind the counter while Ally got the arrow out and extinguished the fire, more coming from across the windows. The witches crouched, trying to get as safe as possible, and the dark haired male looked out, assessing the threat. "We've got company. And they brought a crusade."

The Slayer and vampire, working together, moved a vending machine to block the door. Meanwhile, the redhead searched for a spell that could be useful and Ally jumped over the counter to get to the teen when Dawn started screaming. The knights were drilling holes in the walls and windows to try to get in, one even coming from the back when Buffy tried to get to her sister, punching her and sending her to the ground. Spike charged against the knights that had gotten in, but the rays of sunshine coming through holes and slits made it even more difficult for him.

It was madness.

Luckily, Buffy soon recovered from the hit and knocked the knight out with a couple of strikes, just barely having time for Xander to take him away before another man, dressed in slightly different clothes that the rest of the knights came into the room, pointing a sword at the Slayer. "The Key." He demanded, yet seemed to know he wasn't going to get it that easily and started swinging his blade, only for it to be taken out of his hand by an maze, courtesy of the Chosen One. She made quick work of him, soon lying on the ground, in time for Willow to raise a magical barrier that prevented any others from getting in.

The Gang then had their leader.

The Slayer approached her best friend, still breathing fast from the fight. "Will? How long will it hold?"

Willow looked uncertain, frightened. "Half a day maybe." With that, she went to look outside through a slit, the back at the group. "Or till Heckle and Jeckle punch a hole through it."

Ally and Dawn, who had been behind the counter most of the time, the former protecting the teen from the hands coming through the wall, approached their sister, Spike coming nearer to look at the head of the Gang. "So. What's the story with these role-playing rejects?"

"Let's find out."  

* * *

They had tied their prisoner to a pillar at the back room of the station, Buffy in front of him, Spike to his right, Dawn and Ally to his left, further away from him should anything happen. All of Ally's instincts shouted 'Stay with Dawn' in her head, she didn't want to let her out of her sight.

The man didn't seem very eager to talk to them, glancing from one to another as if assessing them.

"You sure Scarface here can habla the English?" Spike asked, looking bored and a bit annoyed.

"He understands me." Buffy assured, staring at the medieval clad man. "Don't you?"

"You were warned we would return, Slayer." He said solemnly, staring right back at her.

She stayed calm, arms crossed over her chest, like a boss. "Took you long enough. What are you supposed to be, some kind of chief?"

"General." Ally would have sworn he held his chin higher at the title, as if it mattered any in his situation.

"General. In charge of what, getting captured?" Taking a step forward, the Slayer mocked, holding the general's gaze.

He didn't seem to cower before it, though, as he stated. "You do not frighten me, child." Then he looked over at Dawn. "The instrument of chaos must be destroyed."

The Slayer and Potential shot forward, the former grabbing the general's head between her hands to avert his gaze from her sister. "Look at her that way again, and she will be the last thing you ever see." She hissed, although the Potential would have preferred to snap his neck. They needed him alive, they needed information. A leverage.

The man barely even flinched, glancing at the eldest brunette for a moment, taking in her protective stance in front of the Key. "As I've been told, you protect the key of the beast."

She was not Glory's. Ally couldn't even imagine her little Dawnie as that, a Key in the possession of the hell bitch. She wanted to shout at him, tell him they were never going to take her sister, because she would kill anyone that so much as looked at her the wrong way.

Buffy was more calm though, at least on the outside, walking a couple steps away from the prisoner, then turning back to face him. Her voiced dropped, almost to a whisper. "It's not that simple."

The General at least seemed to acknowledge that. "Yes. The key has been transformed, given ... breath, life." He paused, lightly smirking, cruelly, passionately. "Yet, this makes no difference. The key is the link. The link must be severed. Such is the will of god."

The eldest of the sisters almost lost it there, upset, her voice trembling. "She doesn't remember anything about being this key you're all looking for. The only thing that she remembers is growing up with a mother, and a sister that love her. What kind of god would demand her life for something that she has no control over?" Taking a small breath, she calmed her voice, taking a pleading tone. "We are not your enemy. Tell your men to stand down."

"No." He flatly replied, glancing back at the teen.

"It is not her fault!" Ally burst, unable to take it anymore, him watching Dawn as a target, an evil thing to destroy. "She's human now!"

"The key is too dangerous ... to be allowed to exist." It was obvious that the belief was deeply ingrained in him, yet he did have something akin to humanity in him, empathy, as he sounded upset for a moment. "No matter what form it has been pressed into."

"I will not let anyone tell me..." Buffy had started again, only to be interrupted by someone wailing in the other room, making them all head over.

The room was dark already, the night sky visible through the cracks and slits on the walls. Ally hadn't slept in close to sixty hours already, and she could feel the weight of her eyelids triple, letting her know it was sleepy time.

But she couldn't right then. Tara was shouting and running around the room, throwing herself at the windows, trying to see something outside. She kept repeating 'Time' over and over again, until Willow restrained her and she seemed to run out of energy. It was a sad sight to see, the former powerful and kind witch acting like a child, a baby, lost in her own mind.

What could they even do?  

* * *

Ally sat on the floor, back to the wall, hugging her knees to her chest while Buffy talked to Giles. Dawn was next to Anya and Xander, sat on the counter, safe for now. The Potential had barely taken her eyes off her baby sister, scared that if she even closed them for a bit too long she would be gone, the knights or Glory would get her, and she would die.

"How you holdin' up, Ally Cat?" The vampire came close to her, sitting right next to her.

She tore her gaze off her sister to glance at the bleach blond for a second, noticing his hands still wrapped, and leaned her head on his shoulder, watching over her sister again. What could she say? She was exhausted, terrified, on the brink of crying. But she couldn't show it. She had to be strong. She had to protect her friends.

And he was there with her all the time, risking it all. Ready to give his life to help her and the ones she loved.

Instead of speaking, she slid her hand on top of his, brushing the back of the pale skin and ragged cloth before entwining her fingers through his. He stayed frozen for a couple seconds before tightening his fingers around hers, giving her strength yet once again.

Then, Buffy called her, explaining that they had to talk to the knights about getting Giles medical assistance. He wouldn't last long if they didn't. She had to go out with her, in case of a fight, or just to hold Buffy back if she couldn't control herself. 

* * *

The cute doctor from the party arrived at the station some time later, his medical kit with him. Ally had to admit, Buffy had some useful contacts. And pretty attractive too. She was sitting on the counter, a few feet away from Giles while Ben treated his wound, Spike standing next to her, and could barely get her eyes off the doctor. Hot damn, her was good looking, but there was also something else to him. He was obviously a good doctor, yet... she felt like there was something dark beneath. Still, how could she judge him for that? Everyone had their dark side. Her best friend was a vampire and she herself had been meddling with pretty dangerous demonic underground stuff in the past. Heck, the last three years of her life were basically a journey through the dark side of society.

Then he looked up, catching her staring, and lightly smiled before focusing on the stitches again. Not two seconds later he glanced at her again, looking doubtful.

"I... We haven't met before, have we? I-I've seen the others a couple times now, but I don't remember seeing you around then." He got back to his task, yet she knew he was expecting an answer.

"No. I'm kinda new to the group. I saw you at the spring break party, though. I'm Ally, by the way." She smiled, watching his hands move with precision, soon done stitching the gash.

"Nice to meet you." He returned the smile before wrapping a bandage around Giles' middle.

Spike abruptly left right then, stalking off to the back room, making the Potential frown. What was going on with him? She shook her head and looked back at Buffy, next to Ben, staring at her with a confused expression. Ally just smirked, gestured towards Ben with her head and gave the Slayer a thumbs up, making her blush furiously just in time for said doctor to finish pulling the blanket over Giles' torso.

The brunette hopped off the counter, nodded at Ben and strode out of the room and into the backroom, where her vampire was trying to light a cigarette, cursing at his injured and wrapped hands for not being able to make the lighter work. He only glanced at her when he heard her come in, turning his back to her.

Okay, he was annoyed at something. She was pretty sure it was her gawking at Ben. Did he really expect her to be blind all of a sudden? She would have to clear things up for him.

She walked around him and snatched the lighter, making him growl, but it was nothing like when she took the cigarette out of his mouth and threw it on the floor, placing the lighter in her pocket. "Oi! What's that for...?" His complaints died when she grabbed his face between her hands and kissed him, closing her eyes and tilting her head.

* * *

It took the vampire a moment to understand what was going on, the only thing he could feel, the only thing he could think about where her lips against his, her hands on his face. She was kissing him. Not a brush like that time when she'd taken him home from Glory's mansion. A real kiss, soft yet firm, warm and sweet. Nothing like he had experienced with the bot, or any of his past conquers. Nothing like Drusilla, or Harmony, or any other kiss. He could smell all of her, hear everything, feel what was going on under her skin. The rhythmic pumping of hot blood through her veins, the hint of citrus on her hair, the sweet scent of coconut on her skin. It was overwhelming and inviting at the same time.

And then, just when he started to kiss back and his hands found their way to her waist to pull her closer, she stopped and leaned back, looking straight into his eyes.

"Now," she started, her voice low but demanding. "you're going to stop being a grumpy bitch and quit sulking back here. I'd rather be able to keep an eye on you and Dawn at the same time."

She stepped back and tugged at his hand to follow her before letting go, Buffy coming into the room just as they left, shooting the Potential a weird look.

* * *

Time passed, some trying to feed Tara, some talking quietly, some just sitting and waiting. There wasn't much to do. Ben kept an eye on Giles, regularly taking his pulse, while Dawn stood by him. Not much was going on, and Ally wasn't sure what she preferred. Waiting, doing nothing, was insufferable, but the end of that nothingness would sure bring a fight, and pain, and who knew what else.

Just like then, when Ben started freaking out and shouting that they had to let him out, running to the back, all of the after him. His hands flew at his hair, desperate and frantic, begging to be let out.

And, suddenly, it was Glory standing before them, smiling devilishly. "Well, what do you know. Little Ben finally did something right."

"The Beast." The general stated the obvious, catching Glory's attention, who seemed to recognize him.

"Hey, it's Gregor." Next she grabbed a circular metallic piece beside her and threw it at the religious fanatic, burying it deep in his chest, whose head soon hanged limply, dead. "Now it's not."

At that point, Spike charged at her, followed by Xander, only to be hit once and sending him flying into the latter, both crashing against the wall. Buffy then lunched at the god, the hell bitch striking her and throwing her onto the witches, all of them collapsing.

The Beast looked over at Dawn and Ally, laughing, taking in their terrified expression. The Potential stood in front of Dawn, keeping her back with one arm thrown behind her, ready to protect her to her last breath, even if she didn't know why. She wasn't strong enough to take on the god. Hell, Buffy couldn't do it with her Slayer powers, what could she do? She hadn't even been activated. The mini Slayer, sorry excuse for a nickname, if she couldn't live up to the title. Still, she would try.

"You won't take her." The girl hissed, pushing her little sister backwards, away from the bitch.

"Like you could stop me." The Beast countered, chuckling again before running at them, swinging one arm at the only obstacle between her and her Key, sending Ally slamming into the wall, grabbing the Key and dragging it with her.

Ally's back hit the wall with full force, head bouncing back against it, the air knocked out of her, then slumping to the ground. She saw black, the only thing she could only hear a high pitched ringing, and her mind echoed 'Dawn'. She couldn't understand the word for a moment, her mind a jumbled mess, before the lights started flickering. Bits of colour popped out and her confusion lessened to a foggy mix of words and blurred images. 'Dawn'. Her sister. What happened to her sister?

By the time she came to, she was outside of the station, being carried by her vampire. There were bodies everywhere, the corpses of the knights they had been fighting not so long before. The smoke of blood and smoke shouldn't affect her so, she was used to it, but it made her empty stomach flip and churn. Good thing she hadn't eaten in the last... day almost.

Spike soon noticed her eyes were open, barely so, and lightly squeezed her against him.

"Dawnie?" She asked, voice hoarse and broken, half expecting the answer.

He shook his head, to which she closed her eyes and hid her face against his chest, sobbing quietly in his arms.

Her little Dawnie, her baby sister. The Beast had her. She had failed to protect her.

* * *

It was happening all over again. She had been there, she had seen it happen. She hadn't been able to stop the evil. She had failed her. She had failed them. She always failed, and her loved ones paid for it.

First, her parents. She lost her family, her childhood, everything she had known. She was the reason they were there, she wanted to go to L.A., go out after sunset to watch Starship Troopers at the movie theatre. They wouldn't have been there if it wasn't for her, and her parents wouldn't have been dead if she had reacted quicker, handed her Dad one of the branches she had used and tell him what their attackers were. She only knew about them because she was a snoopy kid and her best friend was training to get rid of them, all very secretly. She could have told her dad what was out there. She didn't.

Then the _other one_ came and went. She should have been with them. She should have done something to help them. She was home, like they had told her. But she didn't always obey. Why did she had to decide to be good that one time? He shouldn't have died. He deserved to live a long, happy life. She kept playing anything his voice was recorded on for months after, a tear managing to slide down her cheek even a year after his death.

Right when she had a family again, she lost mom for the second time. Joyce, who had been so warm and caring for her. Who soothed her when she broke down in front of everyone. Who invited her over at Christmas so she wasn't alone. Who kept inviting her to have some tea with her one day, when the girls weren't there, so Ally could talk about anything that worried her, like a mother would. One moment she was fine, the next she was dead. Cold and empty, unseeing. She could still see her body in the autopsy room, nothing like what she had been. If only she had taken her offer, gone over to have that cup of tea and talk, maybe she could have called the paramedics, get her to the hospital and everything would be okay.

But it wasn't. Because she had lost mom, and she had lost Dawn. And she knew she would lose everyone dear to her, and it would be her fault. For there was always something she could have done, or changed, and things would have been alright. Except she didn't, and someone else paid for it.

* * *

There was no light, no sound, no Earth or sky. There was nothing, but Ally, in the darkness. The silence was deafening, not even the sound of her breathing was heard. How could she not be breathing? How had she gotten there?

The darkness started moving, the shadows taking form, swaying. It was dizzying, yet she didn't know how to stop it, and she knew she should not stop it. Something was coming from the shadows.

The shape of a person was the first thing she noticed. A head, hair, arms, legs... The figure was hunched over, moving from one side to the other, coming closer to the Potential. It's face became visible, dark skin with white and black paint over it, dangerous looking yet somewhat familiar. It was a woman, dressed in animal skins wrapped around her body, nearing her.

The she spoke. Her voice was raspy, low, and brought the young girl a foreboding sense of important things to come. "You are the link." The woman moved around Ally, eyes never losing her, stalking her. "She's the uncontained power, the protector, made to stop evil from spreading. The other one is the hidden energy, the protected, the one who lets evil out." Without names, without any further explanation, she knew who the woman was talking about. The uncontained power, the hidden energy. Her sisters. "You are the middle ground, the unrealized power, both protector and protected, working with dark and light forces, connected to both sides. The third sister." The figure stopped in front of her, leaning closer, her voice raising an octave. "When the Key opens the portal, the Key must close it. To substitute the Key, you need to make up for both sides of it. The blood and the spirit. Two sides of the same coin. The Slayer and the Potential. You were sent to be the link, the missing piece."

The portal. Glory was going to open the portal. She was going to use Dawn and hell would break loose.

And she was sent to stop it. With Buffy.

"I was sent to die?" Ally's voice was so calm, so accepting, it scared her for a moment. "For my sister."

"You were meant to be their sister, and there is an order to your roles. The first one, the first child, will break the barrier to the lock. The second one, the link, will close the door. The third one will live for them all. So it was seen, so it will be." The woman backed towards the shadows again, the Potential following her, not done with the questions.

"Buffy and I. Both. We both have to die. Can't it only be me? Dawn needs her. We can't both leave her." How could they? She had lost her mom, she couldn't lose her sisters too. It was too soon. Too sudden.

"The third one will live for them all." The woman repeated, and became one with the darkness.

* * *

Ally woke with a start, head dizzy, yet one thought stayed clear in the midst of fuzzy words and feelings. She was meant to save Dawn. She was going to do it.

However, she realized she was not with the Gang, or in the gas sation for that matter. She was in a room with blue walls, grey floors and white furniture, sitting on top of a bed with a few machines connected to her.

A hospital.

Where was everyone? Where was Spike? Oh, no, she hadn't missed the rescue, had she? How long had she been asleep or unconscious? She had to get out of there, find her friends, find Dawnie. She had to see her sisters. She had to tell Buffy what she knew.

She took the IV out of her arm and any kind of wire she had plugged to her body, jumping out of the bed while the monitors beeped angrily, happy she at least was still dressed. It couldn't have been so long, then.

She found her boots on the side of her bed, waiting for her, and in less than two minutes she was out in the corridor, running to find someone. The nurses would soon be there, alerted by the lack of vitals on the machine, and she couldn't let them make her stay.

Her heart jumped when she saw three familiar faces on the other side of a waiting room, talking in hushed voices. Her vampire, her father figure and her dorky surrogate big brother. She had never been so happy to see them.

However, they didn't seem very happy to see her.

"What the bloody hell do you think you are doing, up and running?" Spike strode towards her, grabbing her shoulders. "You get back to that bed right now..."

"Shut up. I need to find Buffy." She looked at the other two from over the vamp's shoulder, getting similar quizzical looks from both. "I have something important to tell her. Now."

"She's catatonic. Willow is trying to get to her." Xander informed seriously, but still gestured with his head towards the exit. "They'll go to the Magic Box if she gets out of it."

Ally nodded. It was better to go with some other plan. Buffy dying should not be the first plan. If they could find a way of getting Dawn away from Glory, better.

Still unsure about letting her out of the hospital, even though Ally only felt sore all over, Spike put an arm around her waist protectively before they all left, shocked nurses trying to find the escaped patient with a thousand bruises who had been in a coma not fifteen minutes earlier.  

* * *

She knew that if she told them, they would try to stop her, to stop Buffy. Only Buffy would understand. She couldn't tell the Gang, she couldn't tell Spike.

Spike.

They were at the Magic Shop, researching, waiting for Buffy to snap out of it and come back to them. They needed her. Dawn needed her. The world needed her. If she didn't recover, Ally wouldn't be able to close the portal, to save Dawn, and their world and all the hell dimensions would be one.

Yet none of it meant anything for Ally if Dawn was dead. The only way to stop the Apocalypse would be to either get to Dawn before the ritual, which was coincidentally that same night, or Buffy and her close the portal. In no way would they sacrifice Dawn.

She wasn't going to lose her again.

Once again, the Potential's eyes drifted to the blond vampire, sitting on the stairs to the darkest section of the store, the second floor. His legs came to both sides of the brunette, only two steps under him, a book on the Beast in her hands. He looked tired and bored, if not impatient, waiting there for the world to end. She didn't want to see him like that. Not in what could be their last day together.

She shifted closer to one of his legs, draping an arm around it to still hold the book in front of her with both hands, laying her head on his thigh. She needed to be closer to him, because she knew that she was probably going to say goodbye soon. Too soon.

His hand found its way to her head, fingers treading through her locks, caressing her scalp. In a moment like that, she found solace in his company, in his touch. If her life was about to end, she was content with giving him her last kiss. She would have to make goodbye memorable. One last taste of him to bring with her to her death.  

* * *

Buffy was finally there, and she was ready to take some action.

"Hear you found the ritual text." She focused on her Watcher, trying to find what they were facing.

The Potential was sure she had never seen Giles so reluctant of sharing information, and she had an idea why it was. "Uh, something like that, yes. Um ... well, uh ... according to these scrolls, uh, it's possible for Glory to be stopped." He paused, Buffy gesturing for him to go on, no time to lose. "I-I'm afraid it's, um ... well, Buffy, I've read these things very carefully and there's not much ... margin for error. You understand what I'm saying?" Ally did, but the Slayer really didn't know what they were facing. She had to wait for them to tell her before she poured more information on her sister. "Um ... Glory ... plans to open a ... dimensional portal ... by way of a ritual bloodletting."

There was it. The Key, the way to open the door. Now Buffy knew it too. "Dawn's blood."

"Yes. Once the blood is shed at a certain time and place ... the fabric which separates all realities will ... be ripped apart. Dimensions will ... pour into one another, uh, with no barriers to stop them. Reality as we know it will be destroyed, and ... chaos will reign on earth."

Everyone listened intently to the old man, no one daring to interrupt his description of the end of the world, terrified and even more hell bent on stopping it.

The Slayer didn't let it make her cower. "So how do we stop it?"

"The portal will only close once the blood is stopped ... and the only way for that to happen is, um ..." He avoided looking at his protégée in the eye, unsure, before finally meeting her gaze. "Buffy, the only way is to kill Dawn."

Ally stood from the stairs then, stalking forward, letting the book fall on the table with a loud thud and grabbing Buffy's arm to take her to the back Alley, away from the Gang. "We need five minutes. Don't come. Keep on searching." She ordered, not looking at anyone in particular, dragging the Slayer behind her.

Once outside, away from the door and after making sure no one was listening, the Potential turned towards her sister, whose face was devoid of colour. Giles' words were too much.

"Buff, there's another way. Dawn's not going to die. I won't let it happen. We won't let it happen. You hear me?" She took the blonde's hand and squeezed tightly, making the other's eyes focus on her.

"Another way? Why hasn't Giles told me?" She frowned, voice weak and vulnerable. There was no way she would let her sister die. Even if it meant the end of the world. But another way sounded better.

"Because he doesn't know. None of them know. They can't. That's why I brought you here. They would try to stop us." Ally breathed deeply, looking back at the door just in case and lowering her voice even more. "I don't know if you know, but after Glory's attack at the gas station, I was taken to the hospital. I was unconscious. I had a dream, or something like that, but it was a very strange dream. And very real too. There was a woman, I... I think she was a Slayer, she felt like it, she felt like... you, in a sense."

"The First Slayer, maybe."

"Maybe. She looked kinda ancient too. She... she told me something. About why I'm here. About you, and Dawn, and me. 'When the Key opens the portal, the Key must close it. To substitute the Key, you need to make up for both sides of it. The blood and the spirit. The Slayer and the Potential. The uncontained power and the unrealized power.'" She recited, thinking back to the time in the darkness, recalling every word. She knew it was a lot to take in, right then, but they had no time. "We can close it, Buffy. If it gets to that, if we can't get Dawn away from Glory before the ritual starts, we can end it. We can close the portal. You and me."

"How can we be sure?"

"We can't. But I'm not going to risk Dawn paying for it. We both have to do it, together. She said there was an order to our roles. 'The first one breaks the barrier of the lock. The second one closes the door'."

"I go first." She realized, jaw setting and hands tightening in her sister's.

"And I go right after you."

"For Dawn."

"For Dawn."  

* * *

She didn't even react to Giles shouting. She leaned back against Spike, his arm coming around her neck, over her collarbone. Anya tried to divert the attention, get more ideas, but there wasn't much to work on. Keeping Glory away from Dawn or both slayers dying.

But Anya did find something to help. The Dagon Sphere and the troll's hammer. It was something. Anything was a bonus, really.

Ally couldn't really think of anything. Dawn dying was not an option, and that was it. Nothing else. No other way.

Her baby sister was not going to die.

She had zoned out, her hand on Spike's on the side of her neck. He wasn't trying to say anything, knew there was nothing he could say to make it better. He was unaware of the soothing effect he was having on her.

They were almost alone right then. Willow and Tara were the only ones in the main room of the Magic Box with them, the redhead searching for some magic spell that could help them that night. Maybe it was time to say her goodbye. Just in case.

She stood up from the stairs and held her hand out for him, gesturing towards the front door with her head. He raised an eyebrow, though he didn't utter a word, taking her hand a following her out.

It looked like a normal night outside. The world was unaware of what was about to go down. Blessed ignorance.

"What is it, love?" Spike finally asked, tugging at her hand when they were about five feet from the store.

She just turned to face him and wrapped her arms around his neck, softly pecking his lips once before leaning back to be able to look at him. "Things will get rough tonight. Very rough. I... am happy to have you here. I want you to know that."

"An extra arm always comes in handy." He nodded, a bit confused at her attitude.

"No, not that way. I'm not talking about the fight. I'm taking about having you here, with me. You make it better. If you weren't here I... I... don't know if I would still be standing. You make me stronger." Her thumb traced his cheekbone, softly caressing him, lost in his eyes. Blue, and so full of warmth, no one would dare say he was dead. Undead. "Thank you." She whispered, tears filling her eyes, lip trembling.

"I will always be here for you. I'll be waiting. If I go down tonight..." His hands went to her shoulders, one sliding to the side of her face, lightly stroking it. "I'll be happy that I at least had a chance of winning your love, with time..."

"I love you. Now." She confessed, voice trembling, yet a tiny smile tugging at her lips. "I love you."

The vampire froze, eyes wide, lips parted in bewilderment. He had dreamed of it, he had made the AllyBot say it, but nothing could have prepared him for that moment. There he was, a hundred and fifty year old master vampire, in love with a human, a Potential, speechless at her confession of love. She loved him. She did.

How? Why?

He didn't deserve her.

Or maybe he did. Then. He had changed since he'd known her. He was ready to give his life for someone else, to endure torture, and be burnt, and slashed, and risk it all over and over again for love. Maybe he did deserve it, finally.

He had her.

Their lips clashed against one another, slow and sweet at first, slowly turning into hot and fervent, understanding it might be their last. Funny, it was the first real kiss they both had actively taken part into, and maybe their last. They would have to enjoy it as much as possible, use it as a incentive to fight harder when the time came. Fight to be able to have one more kiss.

"I love you." She whispered one last time, both hanging onto every syllable before going back into the store, back to the group and the Apocalypse.

* * *

At the Summers house, while Buffy went to her room to her some weapons, Ally and Spike opened the chest in the living room, getting anything they could take with them, anything that could be useful.

"Spike." The vampire at first didn't realize Ally wasn't leaning over the chest anymore, but standing straight next to him. "We're not all gonna make it. You know that."

"Yeah." He bent down to grab a couple axes, noticing his love still didn't move and glancing over his shoulder to see her watching him, biting her lip to keep it from trembling. "Hey. Always knew I'd go down fightin'."

She shook her head, taking a deep breath to even her voice. "I'm counting on you ... to protect her. If anything happens to Buffy and me, I need to know you'll protect her."

He raised to his full height, looking down at her, determined. "Till the end of the world. Even if that happens to be tonight."  

* * *

The tower hadn't been there before, had it? Not like Ally knew that part of town very well, yet she was pretty sure it wasn't there when she'd walked by before.

Ritual things.

As soon as Buffy and Glory started their fight, Giles, Anya, Spike and Ally barged against the hell bitch's minions and brain-sucked slaves near the stairs, trying to clear the way to the top, to Dawn.

However, when the Potential heard her little sister's screams, yelling for her eldest sister from the top, she froze. She was there. She was scared, and she needed help. She saw Buffy going up the stairs, Glory following her, and she had to focus on her battle again. If Buffy couldn't get to her, neither could she.

Then the Slayer and the god fell, landing on the other side of the tower, while the people and minions guarding the stairs regrouped, making the Gang go back behind a barricade of sorts, protected from the bricks and stones being thrown at them.

Giles could barely breath, panting like he had run a marathon. The Potential wasn't much better. Her bruises and previous ailments from the gas station were proving to be challenging. She couldn't hit as hard, as fast or fight as long as she did before. However, nothing could stop her, either, because she knew that any slip from her, from any of them, could mean the death of her baby sister, or any of her friends.

"Has anyone noticed we're going backwards?" Anya wondered out lout, clutching her baseball bat in her hands.

Spike tried to peek over the top of their barricade, a brick hitting him straight in the forehead and making him duck again. "It's crossed my mind."

For once, it was Giles who tried to be optimistic. "As long as ... Buffy can keep Glory down ... long enough, it doesn't matter. There's only a few minutes left to start the ritual."

So they could avoid getting Dawn killed, and Buffy and Ally dying. Maybe they could still win this thing. Maybe.

Xander leaped over the fence on their side, coming to join them, having done his part. "How we doing?" He whispered to his friends and undead ally.

"So far it's a tie." Anya informed him, making the Potential want to snort. Tie. In a tie against some hobbits with leprosy and mental ward patients.

"We haven't got up to Dawn, but then neither has anyone else." Giles extended the explanation, still crouching. Ally asked herself how he was doing, with the spear wound on his side and all.

But her vampire's next words made her hold her breath. "Someone's up there."

Her head whipped upwards, trying to see something at the top of the tower, anything. Vampire sight was much better, but he didn't seem able to make out the identity of the new arrival.

"Okay, we gotta charge or something." Xander pushed, worried, yet his words were muffled in the brunettes ears.

Someone was near Dawn. It wasn't Glory, or Buffy. Who could it be? Another minion sent to finish the job?

Then Spike frowned and started talking to no one in particular, like listening to a voice in his head. Suddenly, he got up and ran straight towards the stairs, just as the human barrier split, leaving the way somewhat clear.

It was their chance.

Ally didn't even have time to think about what she was doing before she charged behind the bleach blond, up towards the top. He ran faster, almost flying over the stairs, her trailing behind, trying to go as fast as possible. One minion ran after her, swinging an axe, making her have to stop to fight. At least, she would let Spike get to the top without any obstacles. He could help Dawn.

The minion lashed and she ducked, the weapon hitting one of the metal bars above her, sending sparks flying. She kicked his gut, the thing tumbling backwards, getting another hit in the chin, then the side. He edged close to the end of the platform, one feet away from falling to his death, and he took a moment to assess his opponent. The girl didn't look like much. She was clearly exhausted, dark patches covering her skin, face, arms and legs several different colours. Yet she didn't look like she was going to stop anytime soon. There was a strength, a conviction, that could match the magnificent god he served.

With one final side kick, the robed figure went flying out of the platform, followed by another leather clad silhouette falling from the top.

Spike.

Dawn.

Then Buffy was with her, both sprinting, lungs burning but resisting to give up when they heard their sister cry.

Finally at the top, there was a small man in a suit, his face reminding the girls of a toad, yet sinister, supported by the knife in his hand. He turned to look at them when Dawn saw her sisters and screamed, his face seemingly amused.

"This should be interesting." He muttered before Buffy sent him over the edge, approaching the teen tied to the end of the platform.

Both girls rushed to untie their sister's hands, one each, helping her move towards the stairs. Then Dawn stopped, looking back, holding her hand against the cuts on her stomach.

"Go!" The blonde tried to hurry up, only for the teen to announce what they feared most.

"It's started."

A giant ball of blue energy was floating under the platform, shooting rays of energy out towards the streets, making roads collapse, turning buildings into demonic beehives, letting winged monsters out of the portal.

"I'm sorry." Dawn apologized before trying to run towards the end of the platform, Ally stopping her before she took a single step.

"What are you doing?"

"I have to jump. The-the energy..." The youngest brunette shook her head, eyes set on the blue light, filled with unshed tears.

"It will kill you." The Potential held her baby sister's hands, looking at her in the eye.

"I know. Buffy, Ally, I know about the ritual. I have to stop it."

Ally couldn't take it. Dawn shouldn't have to do anything. She shouldn't feel like she had to do any of that. She was fourteen. She shouldn't have to die to save the world.

That's what Buffy and Ally were there for.

"No." She softly replied before the tower shook underneath them, making them stumble and hold onto each other.

"I have to. Look what's happening." The youngest insisted as lightings from the portal crushed structures all around, another giant creature coming out of it. "You have to let me go. Blood starts it, and until the blood stops flowing, it'll never stop." Tears started flowing, falling down her cheeks, her gaze jumping from one sister to the other. "You know you have to let me. It has to have the blood."

"Not exactly." Ally whispered, locking gazes with Buffy before looking back at the kid.

Dawn didn't understand. She was the Key. She opened and closed the portal. It was simple, really. It had to be her. Then, why did it suddenly feel like her sisters had some other plan?

And right in that moment, when the Slayer and Potential took each other's hand, she realized. "No!"

"Dawnie, we'll take care of it." The newest of them all promised, smiling softly.

"We have to." The blonde added, squeezing her companion's hand. Dawn just shook her head, unable to accept what they were saying. "Listen to me. Please, there's not a lot of time, listen."

Bolts of lightning crackled around them, Dawn crying and sobbing at her sisters' words. She barely held herself upright, sounds of the destruction going on around them muffling her whimpers. With one last kiss from Buffy and a hug from Ally, the teen was left on one side of the platform.

The eldest started running first, no time for hesitation, ready to destroy the barrier. Not five seconds later, the Potential dashed after the first, jumping over the edge just as Buffy fell into the bubble of energy. Before the middle sister reached the bubble, she felt power make her blood boil, shivers running through her from the tips of her fingers to her toes. And she knew, somehow, what exactly she was feeling.

The Powers that Be had a strange kind of sense of humour. She had been activated.

Buffy was dead.

She fell into the blue bubble and was struck with shocks of energy, like electricity, hitting her from all sides. She tried to scream, but no sounds came out of her. She fell, and fell, until one bolt dealt the final blow, her sight going white, her body limp, right when the ball of energy closed in on itself, letting the girl plunge towards the floor, right next to the body of her eldest sister, her hand seeming to reach out for the other's even after their souls left.

Later on, their graves would be placed just like they were in that moment, close to one another, always together. Because they were family. They were meant to be together.


	8. Chapter 8

It was suffocating. There was no air, no nothing, just that tiny dark space, a bit cushiony but so small she could barely move her arms to her sides. She had to get out, she had to do something.

Because she could. Finally, the pain, the agony, was gone. The screams, the terror, they were gone. She could move her body, if barely, her arms and legs, her fingers, her lips. She was afraid, afraid of running out of oxygen, but she could do _something_ about it. At last.

Fingers and fists clawed and scraped at the surface above her. There was some kind of soft fabric she easily tore and then a harder material, like wood. Her mind was reeling, fighting for a way out, for freedom. She would die if she stayed there. If there was something her jumbled brain could process was that she would die without air. It was basic sense of survival.

She finally felt her hand break through the wood, coming into contact with a crumbly and slightly wet mush, which she soon identified as soil. She punched through it, making way for her body with her hands, stinging and bruised. Yet it was nothing compared to _before_. She even welcomed this light teasing kind of pain.

Just when she felt like she would choke, her head broke through the last layer of soil, fresh air hitting her nose and mouth like ambrosia. Air. Fresh air. It felt like she hadn't tasted it, smelled it, in forever.

She hadn't.

Crawling out of her prison, her knees and hands felt the blades of grass against her skin, cool, a bit wet, and so fresh tears soon fell from her cheeks. She slumped on her side, grasping the grass with one of her hands, her ragged breathing mixing with sobs, crying with joy. She could feel it all, the breeze, the ground beneath her, the material with which she was clad. It was not only misery and torment, endless, torture after torture. She could feel it all again. Like before.

Before what?

Her sobs slowly stopped, her head lifting from the ground and blurry eyes looking around. She was in some kind of clearing, in a forest, with two slightly squared stones sticking out of the floor. The spot of ground which she had gotten out from was in front of one of the stones, a similar scene repeated itself in front of the other.

Sight foggy, she got closer to one of the stones, making out some carvings in it.

_Ally Finn Summers - Beloved sister - Devoted friend - Kicked ass repeatedly_

Her. She remembered. That was her name. Ally. Finn? That was not...

Her thoughts were a mess, everything coming back at once, like a headache from eating ice cream too fast, brain freezing. Her past. Her childhood. Her teenage years. Her time in L.A. Her life in Sunnydale. Her _sisters_.

Summers.

Her head whipped to her right, knowing whose the other headstone was. Buffy. Her sister. She died right before her. They were buried together.

And she wasn't there anymore, either.

What had happened?

She stood up, looking down at herself to find an unknown black dress on herself, paired with a pair of black flats. Those were not right. She didn't wear ballerina flats. She... she wore... boots. She remembered them. Her military boots. They were a gift. She almost always had them on.

Her hands flew up to rub her eyes, trying to clear up her sight. She didn't even know where she was, but she had to move. She had to find her family. Buffy was alive, too. She had to find her sisters. Her friends. Her vampire.

Spike.

Their last kiss assaulted her mind. Outside the Magic Box, when she thought it would be their last day together. She was ready to die. She knew she would rather die than let Dawn do it. She would do it all over again, even when she knew what awaited her after that.

Screams and agony. Non-stop.

She had to move, get her mind out of it. Find her family.

* * *

Slowly but surely, she made her way out of the forest, the smell of something burning guiding her. Soon, she was on the somewhat familiar streets of Sunnydale, only they were destroyed, fire consuming trashcans, shops and even homes. What had happened there?

Then a black clad figure was coming at her, the picture a bit hazy at first. Two others were following the first, baseball bats and crowbars on their hands.

Crowbars. The memory of one of those burying itself on her shoulder snapped her out of her confused state, trying to focus on the silhouettes approaching, making out their totally not human faces.

Trouble.

"We have a nice little girl to play with, boys." The first one growled, voice raspy and threatening, his mouth stretching into something akin a smile, a grotesque and unpleasant one at that.

They surrounded her, her feet moving to a fighting stance on their own, her muscles flexing with a new found strength. She could put to test what she had felt while she fell to the portal, before she died. She could find out if she really was a Slayer.

One of the demons went to grab her from behind, trying to get his arms around her to have her controlled, probably thinking she was just a normal defenceless young girl. Oh, he was going to find out how wrong he was.

Her elbow shot backwards, striking him in the face, a cracking sound letting her know she had broken something. The other two soon lunged at her when they saw she could hold her ground, her fists and legs moving almost to their own accord, reflexes sharper that ever, her hits more effective than she could have ever dreamed of.

The three demons were left in a heap on the pavement, holding their broken members and whining, the new Slayer walking away, feeling whole for the first time in her life.

After a few more minutes of wandering, she arrived at the creepiest scene one could ever see. She saw her face, her torso, lying on the ground, arms and legs torn, letting her see the entrails and wires of the AllyBot. Not twenty feet from her broken copy, was her eldest sister's one, in a similar fashion, abandoned, forgotten by whoever had done that. Ally bet on the demons she had faced not long before.

She looked away from her own face, unable to stare at the images of Buffy and herself any longer. She had to find the real ones, her real family. They had to be somewhere.

Home. The Summers' home. They had to be there.

She didn't recognize most streets anymore, the fire and wreckage not matching her memories, making her ramble in search of the place where she had spent her last days alive. Where her family should be.

It took her longer than she had thought to get to the front of the familiar house, mostly untouched, unlike other houses in the same neighbourhood that had been ransacked and torched. The lights on the lower floor were on, feeling her with a nervous energy that had her standing frozen on the pathway to the porch for a good couple of minutes. What did a couple minutes matter? She had been wandering for what felt, and probably were, hours.

She was finally back, after an eternity in that dark place. Back home.

She reached the door, hearing voices inside, matching each one with a face from her memories. It seemed like they were all there, except... She couldn't hear Spike. Maybe...

Right then, the door opened, a fuming vampire almost crashing with her, then looking up and any kind of semblance of life leaving him. He turned into a statue, the sharp contours of his bones and pale skin making him look like he was made out of marble. His hair was curlier than she remembered, but the rest was all the same. Same black clothes, same hair colour, same expressive blue eyes.

Her vampire.

She felt like the air was knocked out of her at seeing him, her arms stilling around her middle, eyes wide and lips parted, no sounds leaving her mouth. What could she say? How long had she been dead?

"Spike." His name left her lips in a whisper, longing and joyful at the same time. She had spent so much time being tormented, no place for complicated thoughts in her mind. Still, there were three things that had kept her somewhat connected to her life, to what she had been before her death: Dawn, Buffy and Spike.

She didn't even notice the people appearing behind him until a brunette head caught her attention, the watering blue eyes of her baby sister calling her. Her hands had flown up to her mouth, her shoulders trembling, yet Ally couldn't manage her emotions. She couldn't decide what to feel. She was happy she was free and alive, she was nostalgic, she was sad they had suffered, she was confused and, more importantly, she was relieved. Her family was...

Buffy's gaze found hers, yet it felt like something was missing. It was Buffy, but something was wrong. She knew it. Maybe Hell had taken a bigger toll on her. Maybe...

Her thoughts were interrupted by her little sister tightly hugging her, her tears falling down Ally's shoulder as the eldest brunette wrapped her arms around the youngest, closing her eyes. She was really there, with them, back. She could finally touch them, see them, be with them. "Dawnie..." She breathed, voice weak but loud enough for the teen to heard, her shoulders shaking even more.

"You're back..." Dawn sobbed stepping back to look at her and take her appearance in.

That was when Spike approached her, taking one of her hands in his and looking at the wounds and blood in them. "You had to claw your way out, too."

She nodded, forgetting everything the moment they locked gazes. His eyes had never been so soft, his expression never so warm as it was then.

Her vampire.

Then one of the fires down the street caught the tank of a grass mower, making the gadget blow up, the noise startling them all.

Ally's reaction was way worse than anyone else's, though. She jumped back, sending whoever was on her way stumbling, holding herself against the wall, crouched down, trying to find the source of the explosion. Someone shrieked at her sudden movement, the sound drilling into her skull, her mind recalling the screams, the cries. And it all came back at once, images flashing before her eyes, the feeling of her skin being carved, burnt and peeled like a ghost over her body. For a moment, she was back there. Then she was home.

And everybody was staring at her, terrified. Tara and Dawn where on the floor, sprawled, looking at her in shock. She knew, she knew she had knocked them down. She hadn't even thought about it. It was all reflex. She had hurt them.

"I... I... I'm sorry." She mumbled, eyes flashing from one face to the other while trying to stand up again. "I... didn't... I didn't mean to."

She helped Dawn and the witch get back up, when suddenly Spike took hold of her wrist and pulled, making her release her baby sister.

"That looked effortless. Pull." He ordered, tightening his hold on her arm. He had noticed right away.

"Not necessary." She replied quietly, once again staring right back at him. "I know what I am."

"What... you... are?" Willow spoke up for the first time since she arrived, getting the brunette's attention away from the bleach blond. "You mean... you're not like before. What happened while you were gone?"

"Willow, maybe she... it's too soon." Tara stopped her girlfriend, glancing at the blonde Slayer as if to make the other witch understand. "They've gone through a lot. We can talk tomorrow. Buffy said she was tired, and I'm sure Ally is too." She smiled lightly at the latter, whose hand fell when the vampire released her and stalked away. "Come on, we'll take care of your hands and get the extra mattress out in Dawn's room."

When Tara mentioned it, she realized just how tired she really was. Exhausted. She could feel her eyelids closing by themselves, and struggled to keep them open while the Gang let her into the house, hugging her on the way.

Buffy was last, but she didn't make any movements to try to near her. She just stared, like she was trying to read her.

"Buffy." And for the first time since she was brought to life, a little smile stretched her lips. Her sister was alive, they were both alive, and the three were together again.

Yet Buffy couldn't look more miserable at seeing her smile.

* * *

As soon as her eyes closed and her head hit the pillow, she was out.

And she was in there again. There were whispers in her ears, something wet hitting her skin right beneath her temple, and then the metal, carving her, slicing until there was nothing but bone. The screams started over, drowning out the whispers, the soundtrack of her torture. She was pretty sure some of those screams were hers, yet she couldn't even feel her mouth opening and letting those sounds out. They were not human.

The something shook her. That wasn't part of her hell. Something more was going on.

"Ally. Alls. Come one, Alls wake up. Wake up." Dawn's voice brought her back to the real world, her eyes snapping open, her screams subsiding.

Just when she looked at her sister, the door to Dawnie's room opened, the witches rushing in, terrified expressions on their faces.

"What's going on?" Willow asked while Dawn held her sister in her arms, Ally's breathing irregular and her hands trembling.

She thought she was back again. It was like she had never gotten out, but it was only a nightmare.

Only a nightmare.

Dawnie echoed her thoughts, tightening her hold on the eldest brunette and rubbing her arms in an attempt to soothe her. Ally rested her head against Dawn's shoulder, trying to get in deep breaths and the memories out of her mind.

That was over. She was not going back. She was home, with her sisters, her family.

The witches didn't seem to be convinced, like there was something more the two brunettes didn't know, but left the room quietly to go back to theirs.

The girls eventually went back to their beds, too, but Ally resisted falling asleep again. She waited until Dawn was out before climbing out of the mattress, grabbing her clothes and going downstairs as quietly as possible. She changed from the dinosaur pyjamas she had borrowed from Dawn and changed back into some of the clothes that had been left in the house before she died, her boots back on, a stake on the waistband of her shorts.

It felt good to have her things again, it felt... safe, comfortable. At least, when she wasn't asleep. She didn't want to risk a repeat of the nightmare, so she figured she might as well do something useful.

Scribbling down a quick note to let them all know she was out for a walk or patrol in case they woke up and freaked out, she left the house, her feet moving on their own accord. She knew where she was going. Where she always went. 

* * *

The crypt hadn't changed one bit, at least from the outside. She knocked, no answer coming from the other side, so she decided to wait inside for him to come back.

Like she did before.

The inside was a bit different. New furniture filled the empty spaces, a few lamps here and there, a new stand for a new TV, bigger and better looking. The VHS player she gave him last Christmas stood right beneath it, the _Passions_ videotapes next to it. The hole that led to the tunnels was bigger too, and the stairs down looked stronger, better built.

She looked around, taking in every new thing, remembering exactly what it looked like before. She had spent so much time in there, with him, it would even feel homely with only the couch, the telly and the fridge.

"Ally."

The voice coming from her back, from the stairs, made a shiver go down her spine, goosebumps covering her arms. She turned her head slightly, seeing him gawking at her, his eyes sliding from her face to her feet. "You should be careful. Never know what kind of villain's got a knife at your back." He moved his hand to show her a huge curved knife clutched in it, the red from his knuckles catching her attention.

She approached him, taking his hand in hers, just like he'd done earlier that night. "Your hand is hurt."

His gaze went from her face to her own knuckles, nodding. "Hmm. Same with you."

"They'll be fine soon." They were already much better than they would have been before, the edges turning pink, new skin forming.

"Slayer powers." He stated, not needing a confirmation, yet she still nodded. "How?"

"Buffy died a couple seconds before me. It felt like a cruel joke of the Powers." She let his hand fall, glancing up at his face.

"Tell me about it." He averted his eyes, stepping back an sitting down on the edge of the TV stand. "You can sit down. Got furniture."

"I noticed." She smiled lightly, sitting on the edge of the couch, hands on her lap. "Did you sign up to Style at Home, crypt version?"

"You should see the downstairs, too, it's quite posh." He attempted an smile, yet it was more of a grimace. Something was bothering him. "Uh ... I do remember what I said. The promise. To protect her. If I had done that ... even if I didn't make it ... you wouldn't have had to jump." He felt guilty. He didn't know. "But I want you to know I did save you. Not when it counted, of course, but ... after that. Every night after that. I'd see it all again ... do something different. Faster or more clever, you know? Dozens of times, lots of different ways ... Every night I save you."

"You couldn't have avoided it." She corrected, trying to ease his guilt. "The promise was for when I wasn't here, and neither was Buffy. I knew it would happen. I told Buffy. I was sent here for that."

First, his eyes widened in shock, then they narrowed in anger. "You knew? All along?"

Oh, no. He thought she knew from the moment she got there, that she had been hiding it from them all. "No. I found out when I was unconscious at the hospital. A dream. From the First Slayer." When he seemed to relax a bit again, she leaned back against the back of the sofa, her arms coming around her middle. "She told me I was the missing piece. That Buffy and I could take Dawn's place. I was meant to be here, to be their sister, to save Dawn. I was meant to die in her place."

"You knew there would be no one left to protect her but me." He muttered, his eyes taking that soft edge again, almost watery.

He had suffered. He had made himself responsible for it, for not saving her, all that time.

"How long have I... we... been gone?"

"Hundred forty-seven days yesterday. Uh... hundred forty-eight today." He smiled at that, if only a little, nothing like his smirks. "'Cept today doesn't count, does it?" He paused, letting her take it all in, her eyes falling to the floor. Hundred and forty-seven days. Not even five months. It felt surreal. "How long was it for you... where you were?"

"Longer." She sighed, her arms tightening around her, refusing to acknowledge the light ghost of scratching she felt on her skin. It was not real. Not anymore. She was home. She was home.

She was home.

* * *

Something had come from Hell with them. Hitchhiker, they called it, and it was possessing her friends.

Back to their normal life, researching demons and evil crawlies. It felt good, in a creepy way. She had something to fight, even if she was partially the reason why it was there. She was a Slayer, it was her duty, more than ever.

Still, with her lack of sleep and any kind of noise or feeling resembling her stay in hell making her zone out for a few moments, the Gang decided it was better if she stayed home, away from triggers, until they found a way of lessening her reactions. Willow suggested some kind of hypnosis, or a spell that buried those memories or blurred them so they didn't have as big an effect on her.

The hitchhiker was a priority, Ally decided. They would not waste time trying to fix her while it was out there. She could wait.

And she went home.

* * *

She was in Dawn's room when she heard the front door open. The steps were quiet, no one was calling out, and she knew it was Buffy. The steps got closer, up the stairs and into Buffy's room. Maybe they could talk about what had happened, see what it was that had Buffy so... broken. Ally knew she wasn't fine, heck, she was terrified of falling asleep, but when she was awake, she was... better. Buffy didn't look like that. Something more was going on.

"Buffy?" The new Slayer rose from her baby sister's bed, walking out to the corridor to find a white mist floating on the doorway to Buffy's room.

"You don't belong here." It whispered, glancing from the blonde to the brunette before the first tried to punch it, her fist going through the mist.

The demon-ghost punched back, an ethereal tendril shooting out to hit the senior Slayer, sending her flying back. Both Slayers went into attack, all of their hits ineffective, not being able to touch anything corporeal. What was more, the mist vanished and reappeared at will, making it even more difficult to follow.

"Did they tell you, you belonged here?" It taunted, floating in front of the girls. "Did they say this was your home again?" It disappeared when they aimed for it, swirling around them and sneaking behind the Slayers. "Were you offered pretty lies, little girls?" In one movement, both sisters were crushed together, feeling something more solid against their backs, squeezing, trapping them. "Or did they even give you a choice?"

Somehow, they managed to break the demon's hold on them, pushing against its 'arms' and setting free, only to be hit by the same things that had trapped them, sending them stumbling back, laying on their sides. The demon stood above them, suddenly still, its misty form turning a brighter, harder white, more touchable.

Buffy reacted quickly and got an axe from beneath her bed, getting up to continue fighting.

The demon wasn't done talking yet, it seemed, as it started again while the brunette stood back up. It was focused on the blonde, though, like she was its target. "You're the one who's barely here. Set on this earth like a bubble." Buffy cut the air with her axe, not even making the demon flinch, even if its face got cleared after a couple swings. The girls could make out its mouth, moving, while it confronted the senior Slayer. "You won't even disturb the air when you go."

"You won't take her away." Ally hissed, joining her sister once more, aiming a hit at its body.

Unexpectedly, Xander, Anya and Dawn appeared at the door, running until they saw their opponent, their eyes widening in fear.

"Go!" Ally ordered, not wanting them to get hurt too. If Buffy and her couldn't deal with the demon, what could they do?

"Take Dawn out of here!" Buffy shouted, still holding the axe.

All of a sudden, the demon became corporeal, its body like a decaying corpse, white and grey, and tall as no woman they'd seen before. Buffy swung at it, the demon grabbing the handle and trying to take it from her, finally letting go and hitting Buffy, the axe dropping. Ally, behind Buffy, saw her sister be knocked down in one more hit and rushed to pick up the axe, slashing directly at the demon's neck, its head separating from the body and falling to the ground.

It was over. Nothing was taking her sister from her.

* * *

Trying to get some kind of normalcy back, Ally and Dawn left the Summers house, home, heading towards the high school. Buffy had stopped them at first, giving the youngest a brown paper bag with her lunch, the gesture making Dawn much happier than any of them expected. She had suffered in their absence, and Ally couldn't help but feel a pang in her chest at causing her such pain. Yet, it was better than her dying. And they were all back together. Everything would be alright.

On the walk to high school, Dawn held onto her brunette sister's arm, almost as if she needed to touch her to make sure she was really there. As if her screams at night weren't proof enough of her presence.

Ally was still reluctant to sleep, the last couple days since she had been resurrected filled with nightmares the moment she fell asleep, which resulted in only sleeping a couple hours each night, the dark circles under her eyes evidence enough. Willow and Tara were looking into something to get rid of the nightmares; meanwhile, she run on coffee and sheer will power. She was back home, and sleep was not going to ruin it for her.

* * *

Her next visit to Spike was shocking at best. She found him pacing, although he immediately stopped when she entered the crypt, approaching her with long determined strides and grabbing her shoulders to push her against the wall. "Where were you?" He demanded, his expression scared, concerned, contrasting with his aggressive attitude.

"Uh... out, patrolling. What's this all about?" She tore his hands from her, recovering from the surprise and pushing him back, out of her personal space. Was he back to his jealous attitude? She thought he was over it! She would not have him controlling her every minute. If there was something she could not put up with was a man thinking he could control her in anyway.

"No, not now. Before. When you were..." He struggled with his words, his face falling, hinting at what he was trying to say.

"Dead? Some kind of hell dimension, I guess." She shrugged, walking around him to the couch, sitting on the edge, waiting for him to join her.

"You sure?"

"Uh, yeah, pretty sure. Torture, pain, screams. Kinda fits the description. Why are you asking this now?" She frowned when he finally let himself plop down on the couch, hunching over, a hand treading through his curls.

"Thought you might have been somewhere else. Just... nothing."

"Spike..." She placed her hand on his arm, feeling his cold skin under her palm at the absence of the leather duster.

He shushed her, gesturing towards the telly with the remote. " _Passions_ is on."

She wasn't going to get anything out of him. She assumed he was just worried of the consequences her previous 'residence' could have in her. She would be okay, eventually, when the witches found a way to control her nightmares.

Meanwhile, there was something more she had to worry about. What was going on between her and Spike? She told him she loved him before she died, they'd kissed, but then she'd left. She was back, yet... they hadn't talked about what they were then, what they felt, what they should do. And it didn't look like he wanted to talk right then.

* * *

The basement was flooded. Buffy had tried to fix a leak and every pipe in the basement had basically exploded. Great.

"Told you we should have called the plumber." Dawn reminded her eldest sister, who stood in front of the sink, staring at the water coming out of the tap.

"You were right. The plumber will make everything good." She sounded lost in thought, something that was becoming a common occurrence for her.

"Dawnie, you're not eating breakfast?" Tara noticed, sitting next to the teen in the kitchen island, Ally on the other side picking pieces from a bowl of cut up fruit.

Dawn looked around at the food, grimacing for a moment. The other brunette handed her a banana, poking the youngest with it until she grabbed it, giggling.

"Dawn, breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Buffy's quiet and distracted voice caught their attention again, looking over to their big sister to find her still focused on the running water. Just staring. "It's unbelievably important. You should eat breakfast at least three times a day."

"I second that. It's the most delicious meal of the day." Ally piped in, grabbing a piece of mixed grain bread from the plate in front of her. "Eat." She insisted at the teen again, placing a couple pieces of bread and some orange juice in front of her. "Your brain needs nutrients to function well in school, meaning you'll need to work less at home later."

Willow finally moved over to Buffy and turned off the faucet, giving Buffy a concerned look, the blonde finally getting out of it and staring right back at the redhead.

Dawn gave in and started chugging down the orange juice, glancing at Ally as if to say 'See, I'm having breakfast', the other smirking in satisfaction. She was trying to get the teen to eat a full breakfast every morning, an ambitious goal seeing how she struggled to have one single piece of fruit and a slice of bread.

Xander came up from the basement with the plumber, Tito, announcing the whole pipe system needed to be replaced.

"Full copper re-pipe? That sounds potentially pricey." Willow voiced, worry seeping into her words.

"Well, if you have any questions, our number's on the invoice." Tito shrugged, handing the paper to the redhead witch.

Dawn approached her, trying to get a peek of the paper. "That's a weird phone number. Oh, wait." Her head whipped towards Xander, shocked. "Is that the bill?"

"Hey. Tito cut you a good deal down there. Those are his bargain prices. I did a little haggling for you." Xander defended, his hands coming to rest on his hips.

Buffy leaned over the island, looking at them all, trying to calm them down. "Thank you. So we'll pay him, what's the big deal?"

Ally didn't miss the look Tara and Willow shared, knowing they were in for a surprise. Bad surprise, she guessed.

Willow took the lead, as usual. "Um ... Buffy, I-I know you're still getting back on your feet after..."

"Lying flat on my back?" The blonde supplied, rather boldly.

"Yeah. Uh, but there's some money stuff we're gonna have to talk to you about."

That was bad.

* * *

It was really bad.

"Okay ... so you're telling me I'm broke?" Buffy asked straightaway, after having looked at the pile of papers and bills covering the coffee table in the living room.

Tara and Willow were sitting on the other side of the coffee table, Xander next to them, Anya at the desk looking over more bills, while Dawn and Ally stood behind the witches, attentive.

"Not yet, but ..." The redhead tried to find some encouraging words, or at least words that didn't completely get Buffy down. Tara beat her to it, though.

"Money's definitely becoming an issue."

"As in your being almost out of it." The only male in the room added, glancing at his long time blonde friend.

"But I haven't spent any money. I was all ... dead and frugal." The senior Slayer didn't understand what was happening, she had definitely not spent any money.

Her friends went on to explain where the money her mother had saved and gotten from her life insurance had gone, basically hospitals bills and the house, which cost a lot more than the eldest Summers girl imagined.

Ally felt her baby sister shift, getting more worried about the situation every second. "So, what do we do?"

"Easy. We burn the house to the ground and collect the insurance. Plus, fire? Pretty." Buffy joked, leaving her friends and family speechless. "You guys, I'm kidding. Okay, it's, it's bills, it's money. It's pieces of paper sent by bureaucrats that we've never even met. It's not like it's the end of the world." She paused, thinking about it. "Which is too bad, you know, 'cause that, I'm really good at." She looked over at her youngest sister, noticing her concern was not fading. "I'll take care of this. I promise. I ... just don't know how yet."

"I can pay the plumber, Buff. You don't need to worry about that." Ally intervened, taking Dawn's hand and squeezing, attempting to reassure her. Buffy went to interrupt her, but she beat her to it. "I'm basically living here. I'm never in my apartment. I will do it. I have money, and it's not going anywhere. I have a constant income from a few works I've done in the past."

"Thank you." The blonde smiled lightly, immensely grateful.

"You're still out of money." Anya reminded her, turning in her seat to look at her. "Um ... i-i-if you wanna pay every bill here, and every bill coming, and ... have enough to start a nice college fund for Dawn?" She smiled widely, the kind that could creep people who didn't know her out. "Start charging."

"For what?"

"Slaying vampires! Well, you're providing a valuable service to the whole community. I say cash in." The ex-demon didn't realize the effect her words were having on her boyfriend and friends.

Buffy blinked, flabbergasted at the suggestion. "Well, that's an idea ... you would have. Any other suggestions?"

Anya didn't give in, though. "Well, I mean, it's, it's not _so_ crazy."

Dawn burst. "Yes it is! You can't charge innocent people for saving their lives."

"Spiderman does."

"He does not!"

"Does too."

"Does no-" The teen stopped, calming down and looking at the dark haired man still refusing to look at his girlfriend. "Xander?"

Both girls were then looking at him, uncomfortable at being put in such a situation. "Action is his reward."

Dawn gave Anya a 'told you so' look, getting the ex-demon annoyed, standing from her seat and grabbing her purse. "Why don't you ever take my side?" And she left the room, Xander going after her.

Ally decided she should speak up, try to support the ex-demon. "Actually, it's not such a bad idea. I'm not saying charge everyone just for killing vampires or demons, but there must be people who are having problems with them and _can_ pay for it. Like a supernatural protection agency."

"Oh, come on..." Dawn huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm not going to charge people for it." Buffy concluded, her eyes sliding over the bills. "It's my duty."

* * *

After Buffy was denied a loan at the bank, even after fighting the demon who had robbed it, they all gathered at the Magic Box, Dawn joining the research team for the first time. Ally went to the back alley to get rid of the empty cups of coffee and boxes of donuts the Gang went through almost every time they got together, still wondering how much she could last living on caffeine and a couple hours of sleep at night. She didn't scream anymore, but the nightmares persisted, making her wake up covered in sweat and terrified every night. At least she didn't disrupt Dawnie's sleep anymore.

When she got back inside the magic store, she found Giles standing in the middle of the main room, hugging Buffy, deeply affected at seeing his protégée alive again.

It was a beautiful sight.

When they stepped back from the hug, the Watcher's eyes moved from Buffy to the rest of the room, finding Ally standing in the back, smiling softly at them. "Oh, God. You're alive. You're both here." His gaze moved back and forth between both girls, the brunette swiftly approaching them to hug the Watcher. "Willow told me, but I didn't let myself believe..."

"Believe." Ally smiled widely when the man wrapped his arms around her, warm and fatherly like he'd always been. She was so happy to have him back she didn't realize she had to control her strength a bit more then.

"You're incredibly strong." His voice was strained, making her immediately loosen her hold.

Ally looked back at the redhead witch, wandering if she had told him about her new situation. Willow seemed to understand what she wanted to know, only shrugging and shaking her head in response.

"Uh... There's something you should know, first." The new Slayer announced, taking a step back so that Giles could look at her well. He tilted his head, forehead crunching up, expecting something bad, as it was usual for anyone inhabiting Sunnydale. "When.... when Buffy and I jumped..." She looked over to her oldest sister, her nodding lightly, face still as unemotional as it had been since they'd been resurrected. "She... went first. She... died first. A couple seconds before me, I think."

"How would you know that?" The Watcher took off his glasses, wiping them as he always did when he was thinking or worried.

"I was activated."

"You now have two Slayers to watch." Buffy added, waiting for her surrogate father to take it all in.

"We'll let you get used to it and catch up with Buff. Breathe, Giles." The second Slayer grinned at him before making her way over to the rest of the group, sitting next to her youngest sister while Watcher and senior Slayer made their way to the training room.

* * *

When Giles got back from the training room, Anya rushed to hug him, claiming he couldn't get the control of the store back, making clear it was her territory then. He simply shrugged it off and focused on the demon at hand, nearing the table to find out what they knew. "And, do we have information on this new demon that I suddenly find so desperately interesting?"

Turned out the Mmm'Cookies demon was a mercenary kind, working for the highest bidder, meaning they had to find who could pay and control these beasts.

* * *

After the house was trashed, yet again, the demon dead and no clues as to who had hired him, the group went back to relative normalcy. Buffy had left to meet some ex boyfriend outside of Sunnydale, Ally didn't know much about it, leaving her, Dawn, the witches and Giles to clean up the mess, which was actually better. Buffy was going through a rough time, much worse than Ally, she needed to get out and forget about it all for a while. No one could say she wasn't trying. She had gone through too much in a short period of time.

To be honest with herself, Ally thought Buffy needed a spa week or month and a stable life for when she got back. But they were no where near that situation. The brunette would try and make it as good as possible for her sister, but she couldn't work miracles. She was too tired all the time, too exhausted to properly function. Her whole world revolved around Dawn and making sure everything was as well as it could be.

And she needed some time for herself too. Herself and someone else, to be more specific.

A someone who was at the back of the house, hiding not too well; she could see the smoke coming out from behind the tree near the back door from time to time, even from her spot near Dawn's window. The teen was asleep, hugging her blanket to herself and rolling around every now and then.

Ally couldn't sleep, though, afraid of the nightmares once more. She didn't want to wake her sister up in a screaming fit, she didn't want to hear the other's screams anymore. Willow had promised they would find a solution in a couple days, and she couldn't wait for it anymore. She needed a calm night, free from the memories, free from everything. She needed rest.

She couldn't sleep.

As quietly as possible, she left the bedroom, tip-toeing her way downstairs and to the backdoor in the kitchen, barefoot and in her pyjamas, looking all the bit tired. She paused before opening the door, tugging at her thin white tank top, thinking about the conversation her vampire and she needed to have. What could she say?

 _Just get it over with. We both feel the same way, don't we?_ She asked herself, taking a deep breath before stepping out of the house. She couldn't see him, yet she knew he was there. Those blasted cigarettes he kept on smoking like a freaking chimney gave him away. "Hey, Spike."

She heard the rustling from behind the tree, probably from him moving away from it, before he came into view, flicking the cigarette and throwing it to the ground, stepping onto it as he approached her. "Hello, love."

"Been there long?" She rested her arms on the white wooden railing, leaning forward, looking around the dark garden.

"A while. Shouldn't you be asleep?" He stood next to her, closer than friends would, not as close as she wished for him to.

"Can't sleep." Her voice dropped, hoping to hear him talk. It soothed her, and it was confusing. She was suddenly feeling much more than she did before, wanting more from him. When had that happened? She had frozen in place when she saw him the first time she came to the house after being brought back to life, had been left speechless when she looked at him. She was feeling so much it sincerely scared her.

"The Little Bit snoring?" He raised one eyebrow, leaning back against the railing, staring at her.

"No. Nightmares." Her eyes glanced at him, once again getting captured by his blue ones, feeling like she was drowning in them.

'I'm bloody drowning in you!', he'd said so long ago. She wondered if he had been feeling what she was feeling right then, so lost, so scared and attached. It was terrifying. And yet she didn't want it to go away. Still, she didn't find the courage to bring up the topic, to have that conversation. _Coward._ Give her a bunch of killer demons and she wouldn't hesitate in going after them, but _feelings_... That was even more frightening.

"Memories?" He guessed, his eyebrows crinkling in concern, even more when she nodded.

"I sometimes scream, and I don't want to wake Dawnie up. She gets worried and..." She shrugged, gaze falling to the floor in front of her. "She shouldn't have to worry anymore. She's had enough for a lifetime and she's only fifteen."

"Anyway to get rid of the nightmares?"

"Will and Tara are working on it. They say they should have a solution in a couple of days. I hope they're right. I'm mostly running on coffee right now." She smirked, looking back at him, yet his face was still serious. "It'll be over soon. I only have to last a couple more days."

"You can't not sleep until they get a magic solution for it, pet, your brain will go poof before that." He raised to full height, eyes set on her, frowning. "Go to bed." He started to walk around her, probably to go back to his crypt, until she grabbed his arm and stopped him.

"Please, don't leave yet." She whispered pleadingly, her hand sliding to his, goosebumps exploding in her arms at the touch of skin with skin. Warm and cold. His face turned towards her, eyebrows high, a confused expression adorning his face. He looked so innocent, so clueless, she couldn't help but love the moment. "Stay." She got closer to him, her hands leaving his and getting under his coat and around his waist, her face burying itself on his shoulder. She wanted him near her, so close she could not tell them apart. Why? She had no idea.

"You need to get some shut-eye. It's the lack of sleep making you act like this, love." Even as his words came out, his arms moved around her, holding her tight, his lips and nose delving into her hair.

"Maybe. I don't care. I want you here, with me." She admitted, her mouth barely moving, her voice drowned by his t-shirt. She knew he had heard her, though. "Please, stay with me tonight."

"The Watcher will stake me if he finds out I've spent the night with you. And I don't think the Nibblet will like me standing near her bed while she's asleep. And you need to sleep, Ally Cat." His lips hovered over her ear, sending tingles down her spine, her whole body melting into him.

"Buffy's out." Her voice dropped even more, sleep threatening to overtake her. Still, she didn't really fear it if Spike was with her. He would take care of her. He would protect her from her fears.

Just as her body lost strength, going soft against him, he picked her up in his arms, bringing her inside the house and upstairs once again, careful not to wake the Watcher asleep on the couch or come face to face with any other of the girls living in the house. He laid her in the senior Slayer's bed and brought the blankets around her. He then laid next to her, the girl immediately curling against his side, her head on his chest. His hand came to her hair, softly caressing her, enjoying the silky feel of her strands between his fingertips.

Be it the lack of sleep or the trauma from being in hell, he would be there for her whenever she wanted him to be, because she was all that mattered, she was his world, even if he didn't always deal with it well. She was everything he shouldn't want. For one, human. Even before, he knew it wasn't right, that feeling the way he did would only lead to pain. And then, she was a Slayer, the very thing he should hate, kill, and enjoy doing so. Yet nothing broke him more that thinking about her getting hurt. Nothing hurt more than seeing her limp on top of those boxes, empty, dead. He had barely survived that. He had only wanted to join her, even in hell. But he had made a promise, and he had to keep his promise, for her. He had stayed, he had looked after the Nibblet, all for her.

Because she was all that mattered to him. She was his world. His heaven and hell. His everything.


	9. Chapter 9

She knew something was different even before she woke up. To start off, she hadn't had any nightmares. The room was dark, but it felt like she'd been asleep for a long time, longer than she had since way before she'd died. Not only that, but she was _rested_. And heck, it felt good. Then, she realized she was not in Dawn's room. She was in Buffy's. Why?

 _Spike_.

He'd stayed with her. That would explain the closed blinds and the darkened room. But he wasn't there anymore. Had he left? When?

She glanced at Buffy's alarm clock and had to hold back a gasp. It was half-past ten, in the morning. She'd slept for over nine hours, nightmare free. Had the witches found a solution while she was asleep? God, it felt good. Like she'd spent a year sleeping, recharging batteries.

And she was hungry.

She went down to the kitchen, feeling light and energized, only to find _every_ current resident of the house gathered there, plus her vampire.

 _Her vampire_. She had taken to referring to him like that in her head, and she really liked the sound of it. Would he like it too?

There he was, sitting on the kitchen counter, behind Tara, who was placing some of her pancakes on Dawn's plate, Willow and Giles next to the teen. The latter was looking at the vampire warily, and Ally wasn't sure what Spike had told them about him being there in the morning.

Then, all heads turned towards her, standing on the doorway, her hand in her hair, trying to get the strands out of her face. "Morning." She smiled lightly before making her way to the counter, near Spike, where the bowl of fruit was standing, hearing similar greetings shot her way, yet knowing everyone was staring at her, like they were trying to see her reaction at having the bleach blond there among the others.

She lifted herself to the counter, sitting next to the vamp with the bowl of fruit in her lap, nonchalantly biting into the first piece, locking eyes with the redhead. "Did you do something? A spell or...? I slept like a log."

"No nightmares?" Willows eyebrows shot up, sincerely surprised. "We didn't do anything. We're still searching."

"Huh." That was weird. There had to be something that made her nightmares go away. Could it be...? Her eyes moved over to the leather clad man sitting next to her, meeting his baby blues in sudden understanding. It was him. His presence.

"So" Dawn spoke up, breaking their silent stare down and making Ally's head whip towards the young brunettes voice. "you're fine? No need to chug down a gallon of coffee?"

"I'm terrific. Can we train today, Giles?" She smiled widely at the prospect of having a good training session for once. She had been too exhausted before to do anything more than patrol a couple times with Xander and Willow.

"Sure. I'll be at the Magic Box. Why don't you come by in the afternoon?"

"No prob. I'll be there." She nodded, taking a big bite of the apple in her hand, feet dangling happily over the edge of the counter, excited.

Soon, Giles and the witches left for the magic shop, Dawn and Spike started playing some card game in the living room after the girls lowered the blinds, joking about the vamp not wanting to get a tan. He frowned, more like pouted, for a moment before sitting down, facing the youngest girl, while his love picked up a book and sat on the other side of the living room, where a small window let some sunshine in.

And she felt good. Her vampire was there, with her, playing with her sister. She imagined they'd done that same thing several times when she was dead, she imagined the nights he'd spent right there, taking care of the teen because of a promised he'd made to her before she died. It felt good to be part of it now, to see them talk and joke, the atmosphere light, friendly. That was rare whenever Spike was near her friends.

* * *

Spike was still home when Ally and Dawn left for the Magic Box, telling her he'd watch TV until the sun went down and he could go back to his crypt. Dawn left first, understanding the strange couple needed a moment alone, walking slowly so it wouldn't take her sister long to catch up with her.

When Dawn had stepped out, Ally approached the vampire sitting on the couch with a bored expression.

"Thanks for staying last night." She stood a couple feet from him, hands on her jean shorts' pockets, her gaze flickering between the television screen and the bleach blond.

"T'was nothing, pet."

"No. It meant a lot. I think you... somehow, kept the nightmares away. Thank you."

His eyes shot up to her face, not knowing what to say to that. "I didn't do anything."

"You did, even if you don't know how. I'm pretty sure it was you." She smiled lightly, stepping closer and leaning forward to press her lips to his. "Thank you." She whispered, still kissing him, before leaning back and backing away.

He simply watched her, a bit stunned at the unexpected kiss, following her figure as she left the house.

* * *

How she'd missed it. The sweat running down her back, the rush, the movement, hot and, oh, so intense. Her breathing coming in short huffs, her hips and arms moving of their own accord. God, it felt good. So good.

With one last shift, her fist hit the protector, the Watcher stumbling back with the force, impressed with the new Slayer's abilities. He had seen her in action when she was just a Potential, as she was definitely very capable of performing the Slayer duties even back then, but right in that moment, she was probably one of the deadliest slayers ever to exist. She had been trained to maximize her effectiveness when she had no superhuman power, the combination of the extremely intensive training and her new power was lethal.

"That-that will be enough for today." The Watcher announced, lowering the protective gauntlets and hunching over, trying to catch his breath. "You-you can go re-rest now."

"Great." She shrugged, shaking her arms on the way to the main room of the store, where her friends were gathered, chatting happily among themselves.

"There's our Allygator." Xander welcomed her cheerily as she approached the table they were sitting around. "How was training?"

"Good. I missed it." She received a bottle of water from Tara, always so attentive and ready to give, and leaned back against a bookshelf near the group, right behind Dawn.

"Are you patrolling tonight?" The teen asked, turning around in her seat to look at her.

"Yup. Lots of evil crawlies are waiting for a taste of my magic wand." She smirked, rolling her shoulders to ease off the tension.

"And a certain bleach blond waiting for you, too, I'm sure." The kid smirked back, making the Slayer go fifty shades of red.

"Uh... yeah, we wanted to talk to you about that, Alls." Xander intervened, making the girl gulp. Bad, bad, bad. They wanted to talk about Spike, and she wasn't going to lie to them. "The... uhm... he... Are you two... involved?"

"Kind of." She admitted, taking a big gulp of water to get a few more seconds to think about how to tell them. "We... haven't talked much about it, so it's not like... we're together, but... I guess we are."

"He's a _vampire_ , Alls." The dark haired male reminded her, saying exactly what she didn't want to hear from them. Not that.

"And he's on our side, Xander. I think he has more than proved himself already. Vampire or not, he's good, and that's all I really care about." She shot back, annoyance tainting her voice before she got a grip on herself. "I don't care if someone is human, vampire or demon, as long as they are on the good side. You know, before I came here, in L.A. most of my friends were either demons or half-demons, and they were some of the best people I've ever known."

"We didn't know that." Dawn muttered, a hint of sadness noticeable in her words.

"Yeah, Alls." Xander agreed. "All we know is you're the female Bruce Wayne, fighting to keep the demonic version of Gotham city somewhat safe. Not like you've told us a whole lot more." He complained, his eyes hardening while the rest of the occupants of the room averted theirs.

He was right. She had barely told them anything about her past. But it wasn't just her story, and she wasn't sure if her old friends would like her to tell the Slayer's Gang about them. What if something went wrong and her new friends went after the old ones? Whose side would she take?

"It's not that simple, Xand." She confessed, her voice dropping, trying to calm him down. "I left a life back there. My friends were my family for three years. My ex was my everything. It's not easy to talk about it." She took a deep breath, knowing everyone, even Giles, who had come from the back room, was listening. "I broke a promise when I stayed here, and I... I miss them, but... I don't think I'm going to go back anytime soon. They were hoping I would get out of this life and now... well, sacred duty, no getting out, right?" Her gaze went to her little sister, whose baby blues were set on her, empathetic. "And I have a new family now. I have sisters, something I'd never had before, and... I don't want to leave this place. And that makes it hard to remember them, to remember my life before."

"You don't have to. Really." Dawn assured her, earning a light smile from her big sis.

"Yeah, Alls, don't worry, we just... We're worried about you and Spike. We... met him when he was evil and... what if he gets the chip out of his skull? What if he goes bad...?"

"Wait a minute." Ally interrupted the witch, recalling the times when that blasted chip had been mentioned. "I still don't know what the thing about the chip is. Jeez, I keep forgetting to ask somebody about that. Can someone explain?"

"He didn't tell you?" Tara asked, frowning lightly.

"Of course he didn't..." Xander shook his head, treading a hand through his hair and biting his lower lip, looking like he wanted to punch the vampire. "That chip is the reason why he plays on our side, Alls. He can't hurt humans. A government scientist group captured him and put that chip in his head, which basically gives him a hell of a headache if he so much as punches a human. They neutered him."

Well, that was a bit too much science fiction for her. Demons, ok. Vampires, cool. Government scientists messing with vampires and neutering them? That was way too crazy even for her.

"He tried to kill Buffy several times before he got the chip." Willow explained, hating the fact that her friend's face got more and more broken-hearted with each word. "He tried to kill me too. That's how he found he couldn't hurt humans. He tried to bite me, and he got this... headache."

"He once kidnapped Willow and I when Drusilla had left him, so she would make a love spell for him. He nearly killed me back then." Xander added. His only intention was making sure Ally knew what she was getting into if she chose to keep on seeing him.

"I think he's changed." Dawn cut them, her voice gaining strength. "One thing is not being able to kill us anymore, but... the things he's done for us? That's more than he would have ever done before. I think he really is good now; or as good as he can be, being a vampire and all. After all, he doesn't have a soul."

"That's true." The redhead agreed and smiled lightly at the stunned Slayer. "He's done much more than he would have done if it was only to save himself. I think he cares. He's not completely evil."

"But he's still a monster." Xander reminded her, not letting the girls' words sway his opinion.

"I-I... need to talk to him." Ally left her water bottle on the table and grabbed her bag, ready to go straight to his crypt. Her mind was reeling, replaying her friends' words and mixing them with her memories of the vampire. Her vampire. She just couldn't imagine him trying to kill Willow, or any human for that matter. Ever since she'd known him, she'd thought he was good because he _really_ was good, not because he simply couldn't be evil anymore.

She needed to talk to him, listen to what he had to say on the matter. She couldn't just label him as 'neutered evil' on the Gang's opinion on him. He had the right to defend himself.

* * *

The walk to the cemetery was full of mixed feelings, so distracted that a vampire almost knocked her down at the entrance to the graveyard. She was thankful, though, as the fight helped her focus once again, not let her emotions blind her. She had to be open, receptive. _The past is the past,_ she kept repeating to herself as she took the last steps to the crypt.

She knocked and waited for a response, his 'come in' letting her know he was probably watching TV. Her mind flashed back to her first weeks in Sunnydale, sitting next to him for hours, fighting alongside him, knowing she had a trustworthy ally with her. A friend.

Hesitating, she opened the door, slowly coming into the dimly lit room, where her vampire nursed a bottle of some kind of liquor while watching some stupid TV show. It was always the same with him. It made him even more endearing, in her opinion. He was a simple man, vampire, with a depth that most couldn't even fathom, even less on someone without a soul.

He lightly turned his head to look at her and immediately noticed her tense stance and guarded expression. "Something wrong, love?"

 _Love_.

She walked over to the couch in complete silence, lowering herself to the seat without glancing at him, her jaw clenching and unclenching continually. That completely stole his attention from the telly, fully turning towards her and leaving the bottle on a nearby table. "What is it, Ally Cat?"

That nickname. She loved that nickname. Only he used it. The rest called her Alls, even Allygator earlier that day. But Ally Cat was Spike's nickname for her. Only his.

"I know about the chip."

Silence ensued. Given vampires didn't need to breath, the only sounds in the crypt were the ones coming from the TV and Ally's breathing, controlled but undeniably deeper than usual. Something only a vampire could perceive, their senses prepared to notice those things in their preys. Yet, she wasn't his prey. He was her victim.

"So the Scoobies told you. Alright." His voice was thick, his hands had turned into fists, but he tried to remain as calm as possible, at least on the outside. "I guess they told you more stuff, didn't they?"

"Yeah." She fiddled with her hands on her lap, eyes set on the floor in front of her.

"From before the chip, right?"

"Yeah."

Another silence, this time longer. Ally was just trying to come up with words that didn't make it seem like she was attacking him, finding it extremely difficult, so she decided to let him say whatever he wanted to say first.

"I want your version." She glanced up at him, turning in her seat to pull her feet up on the couch, facing him, letting him know she was ready to listen.

Apparently, he didn't expect that. He actually expected her to try to stake him and ask questions later, but that was just Ally for you. Her trusting attitude would probably get her in deep trouble some day.

"I told you I was... I am evil." He picked up the bottle again, gulping down the liquor like a true alcoholic, probably just avoiding having to talk for a few seconds. "I'm a hundred and twenty, and I've killed, and tortured, and savaged for most of those years, and enjoyed every second of it." At this point, he locked gazes with her, taking in her reaction, and thoroughly surprised at her indifference. "Railroad spikes got me my vampire name."

"And now?" That was what she wanted to now. The present. The past was the past. She knew that damn well. Hell, L.A. practically ingrained that in her.

"I'm a sorry excuse for a vampire." He sighed and treaded his fingers through his hair, messing with the combed back locks. "When I got the chip, it was pure survival. Help the Slayer or die. Then it was convenience. She paid me for help, and I wanted the money. Plus, I wanted to hit something, even if it was demons, or my own kind. Anything I could kill, I'd take. I wanted the fight, the rush." He left the bottle aside again and hunched over, leaning his forearms on his thighs and resting his head on his hands. "And then you came here. Bloody hell, you practically destroyed everything that was me. Made me turn into a bloody babysitter, actually helping the Scoobies for free, wanting to help them. If fifty years ago, hell, four years ago, I'd known what I'd become, probably would've killed myself." He let his hands fall down, eyes unseeing, lost in his memories.

She reached out and took his hand in hers, getting ready for the big question. "What if you got the chip out?"

"Don't think things would change. Nothing could be worse than knowing you hate me."

And his voice was so truthful, so sincere, she believed everything he said. He had basically turned down everything he stood for, and would even stay that way given a chance to get back to what he was before, his old glory, for her. Was he evil? No. He had the capacity to do evil. But so did she. Yet they chose not to, and that was what mattered.

She placed her free hand on the side of his face, turning it towards her and leaning forward to capture his lips. Slowly, she shifted closer to him, eventually getting her arms around his neck, his hands finding their way to her waist. He pulled her closer, her legs going to the sides of his hips, straddling him. Their lips moved in sync, tasting each other, tongues meeting as the kiss got more fervent.

She couldn't imagine anyone else giving so much for love, changing so drastically, completely remaking himself. He loved so fully, so intensely, she wondered what she'd done to deserve that, to deserve him. No matter what others might think, he was one in a million, and she was a lucky woman.

His thoughts followed a similar line. She knew what he'd done, what he was, and yet she wanted him. He felt like he'd hit jackpot, undeserving and scared of losing her any moment. So scared, it made him want to cherish any and every moment with her.

And then his mouth travelled down her face and to her neck, exploring her, getting soft moans from the girl. And he thought that it was the most beautiful sound he'd ever heard, like music to his ears, and he wanted to play it on repeat.

She felt herself melting into him, forgetting about everything but him, them, together. She needed that. She needed him. She wanted him. And she would get him.

That night, she was in heaven.

* * *

The next morning, it took everything she had to tear herself from a sleeping Spike, gathering her clothes around the king size bed on the lower level of the crypt. Her eyes struggled to leave the figure on the bed, his pale skin and lean muscles drawing her back in, making it even harder to distance herself from him. She needed to think about something else, but, god, she hadn't had a night like that in such a long time... If she'd ever had one like that.

With one sniff at her top, she decided to wear one of Spike's t-shirts, fully aware that she needed a shower and fresh clothes. She had come straight from her training the previous night, she probably stank.

Carefully, she leaned over her vampire and placed a soft kiss on his cheek before leaving the crypt and heading home, knowing that she would have to face her friend's reaction to her relationship with the vampire as soon as she got there. Well, she wasn't going to lie. She loved him and he was on their side, Xander could stick it up his ass for all she cared. 

* * *

Buffy was back. Awesome. She'd gotten back just in time for dinner, apparently, and therefore knew she had spent the night out, with _Spike_. Obviously, they were all in the living room when Ally got back, and it didn't take them more than five seconds to realize she was wearing Spike's t-shirt. Giles, who was still staying on the couch at night, dropped his glasses, while the witches and Buffy paled.

"Oh, god." Was all Buffy could say, staring at her, wide eyed.

Maybe it was the lack of food, or the still sleepy state, but her mind thought humour was the way to go. "That's what I said."

* * *

"Come on, Alls. Spike? What were you thinking?" Buffy asked for the hundredth time as she followed her to the kitchen around mid morning.

Ally, freshly showered and busy making breakfast, rolled her eyes. "Buff, be honest, does it really surprise you?" She looked over the island to her sister while she cut up some fruit and munched on a slice of bread, her stomach growling loudly. Buffy's expression was enough to know the answer. "Exactly."

"Eww." She grimaced, letting herself fall on one of the high chairs. The Slayer couldn't imagine what could have made Ally want to _be_ with Spike, he was annoying and disgusting and he didn't have a soul. Yet, she knew he acted differently around her sister, he'd acted more selflessly than she would have ever imagined a year before, and he obviously cared for her.

"Buffy, he's done more for us, for _you_ and Dawn, than we could have ever asked him to. Cut him some slack, please. I know he's done bad things in the past, but... he's changed. Really." Ally locked gazes with her eldest sister, her big doe eyes strengthening the plea.

She huffed, giving up, leaning her arms on the island and her chin on them. "Just... keep the PDA to a minimum." She glanced up at the clock in the kitchen wall and jumped up from her seat. "Sorry, gotta go. I'm going to class with Tara and Will." She smiled lightly and left her sister in the kitchen, happy that Buffy's reaction wasn't as bad as she had expected, like trying to stake her vampire.

* * *

Her vampire was once again in the backyard; only, this time everyone knew he was there and everyone was looking oddly at her. Well, Xander was full-on twitching to grab a stake and go out, but she fixed him with a dry glare before leaving the kitchen, where they were all gathered, and opening the back door.

"Wanna come in? Or are you gonna pretend to hide there all night?" She asked the darkness surrounding the house in a mocking tone, getting a glimpse of a cloud of smoke.

"Not hiding, love." He came out from behind the tree, cigarette in his mouth, hands in his leather duster's pockets.

"Sure. Throw that away before you come in." She smirked, turning back towards her friends and leaving the door open for him.

Buffy had had a strange episode at uni that morning, and they were all discussing what it could have been; whether it was some kind of stress related issue or if something demonic or supernatural was going on. Of course, they all decided to shut up when Spike got inside the house, staring at him as he joined Ally on one side of the island, next to Dawn and Tara.

"Very subtle, guys." Ally praised, rolling her eyes and offering her 'boyfriend' some of the baby cereal she was having.

"You still hooked to that stuff?" He raised an eyebrow, grimacing at the brown-ish mixture.

"I'm not 'hooked'." She denied, taking another spoonful of it.

"It's the third box this week." Buffy reminded her, tilting her head to one side.

Anya frowned, glancing from the senior Slayer to the junior. "It's Wednesday."

"A box per day, more or less." Dawn confirmed, shrugging, her forearms resting on the counter.

"Only when I'm patrolling. Or training." Ally specified. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, judging her, making her shift in her seat.

"Yeah, one bowl before she leaves, another one when she comes back." Her baby sister laughed, focusing back on her blonde relative. "So, what do you think was that thing you found on your jacket?"

No one else paid much attention to Spike for the rest of the night, as he kept unusually quiet for the most part, only mocking Xander a couple times before he and the youngest Slayer left to patrol. Ally was pretty sure he was trying to get along with her friends as much as possible, even though she'd already noticed a change when she was brought back to life. They'd been working together to keep Sunnydale somewhat safe all summer, and she honestly believed they considered him a member of the Scooby Gang, just a special one.

When Ally went back home later and fell asleep, her nightmares came back in full force, truly convincing the girl that her vampire was the one who had kept those memories away for the last couple of nights.

Needless to say, she slept in the crypt much more often from then on.

* * *

Halloween was fast approaching, and Ally had no idea what to dress up as. Dawn didn't seem to be interested in costumes, which greatly saddened Ally as she wanted to go out with her sisters; none of them were really up for it. Maybe she could get Spike to go out with her, do something fun, have some fun _out_ of the crypt.

So there she was, in the costume store, looking through the different outfits and accessories. Everything available for girls was just the sexy version of any profession or even cartoon characters, nothing she considered empowering at all. Couldn't there be more comic heroine costumes that weren't overly sexualized? Like a Wonder Woman costume that at least covered her boobs and wouldn't make her freeze her ass.

And then she found it. It looked like the real thing, not conservative but definitely not overly sexualized, with the protections in place and a skirt that would let her move if she needed to. She could even complete the costume with some weapons from Buffy's chest.

She would be Xena, the Warrior Princess, for Halloween. 

* * *

Every Scooby was helping at the Magic Shop, filled to the top with customers looking for an extra something to go with their costumes. Only Giles, Anya and Xander were in their Halloween attires, Dawn thinking she was too old for that lame game, Ally saving hers for the night.

Giles sent the eldest Summers girls to the basement to look for some mandrake root, something none of them really knew where was, carrying some boxes with them. The rest of the Gang, specially Giles, really liked the fact that the girls could carry twice or three times their weight in their arms or shoulders, making them perfect when moving things around.

Perks of being a Slayer, she guessed.

"You still keeping your costume a secret, Alls?" The blonde asked as they went downstairs. "You're not dressing up as a vampire, are you, 'cause that's just... Oh!" The senior Slayer came to a halt as Captain Peroxide made his appearance, Ally almost bumping into her. "Bell. Neck. Look into it."

"Come with a nice leather collar, does it? Hello, love." He looked over Buffy towards the brunette, a light smirk playing in his lips.

"What are you doing lurking down here?" The blonde got his attention back, still not accustomed to her sister's relationship with the vamp.

"Came through the tunnels." He held a handful of brown vines up, looking down at the tiny blonde. "Running low on burba weed. Stir it in with the blood. Makes it all hot 'n spicy."

Buffy made a disgusted face, turning to place her box on a nearby table where Ally had placed hers.

"Some like it with cayenne pepper. It's a big hit at demon bars." Ally supplied, approaching her vampire. The identical shocked looks she got from both of them made her stop her movements. "What?"

"Demon bars?"

"How do you know about demon bars?

Their questions came rushing together, both of them advancing on her as one, wide-eyed and menacing.

"I used to go to one in L.A. It was cool, there was karaoke, and I knew the owner. And it wasn't dangerous at all, it was a sanctuary, no violence was allowed inside the bar!" She assured, trying to make them calm down, let them know the bar was fine and she was always safe there.

"You've sure had a weird life in L.A., Alls." Buffy stated, shaking her head and looking around.

"Tell me about it." Ally agreed, catching Spike's frown.

However, he didn't try to pry for any more information with the other girl there. Instead, he helped them find the mandrake root and held the brunette back when Buffy went to give the jar back to Giles, leaving them alone.

"Feel like a bit of the rough and tumble?" He asked lowly as one of his hands found her waist, checking a couple times to make sure no one else came down to the basement. "Me ... you..."

"I wanted to go out first, I got a really cool costume!" She whined, pouting like a child.

"I meant patrolling, Ally Cat." He clarified, smirking again and brushing the hair out of her face and behind her ear with his free hand.

"Oh, sure, yeah. I can patrol on my costume. I'll take a sword too, for your information." Her bright smile, excited and plain happy to go out with him, made him have to hold back a chuckle. She was like a big ball of cheery energy, jumping around all day, untiring.

"And then some more of the rough and tumble." He winked before kissing her and going back to the tunnels. 

* * *

She saw Spike before he noticed she was there. He was near the entrance to one of the cemeteries, trying to light a cigarette, lying against the stone wall. His vampire senses were failing.

She silently approached him, her own steps lighter due to her Slayer powers, and snatched the cigarette from his mouth just as it lit up, throwing it to the ground and putting it out with her boot clad toes.

He frowned at seeing his vice under her feet, his eyes following her leg, sliding over the almost knee high brown boot, to her thighs, to her Xena costume. His gaze turned darker, the annoyance leaving room to desire just as he reached her face, taking in her satisfied smirk.

"You look ravishing, love." He drawled huskily, closing the distance between them, his hands finding her waist.

"Let me guess, you're going as Billy Idol?" She teased as her arms went around his neck.

"He stole my look!" He defended, frowning once again. He was such a kid...

"Sure he did." She pecked him to make him stop pouting and smiled up at him. "Come on, let's go to the Bronze. I wanna dance." 

* * *

The Bronze was crowded, yet Spike managed to scare most of the ones near them to let them dance without being pushed by other couples. His hands were joined behind her back, her arms locked around his neck, foreheads touching, eyes closed. They were a normal couple right then, no crypt, no slaying, no sacred duty or blood hunger. They were just two people in love, enjoying their date, enjoying each other's feel.

That is, until Willow and Tara came, telling them Dawn had lied about staying at her friend's house and was therefore out there; she could be in danger.

A cold feeling spread across Ally's body. Dawn. In danger. Again.

She could not let anything happen to her again. She'd failed once. She wouldn't let herself fail twice. 

* * *

Spike and Ally rushed out of the club, leaving the witches to look for the youngest Summers girl in that area. They headed towards where some hormonal teens would spend Halloween night.

Cemetery it was.

Spike noticed his love's extreme concern but didn't try to say anything. She was scared, worried and angry all at once, and he understood. He knew the Little Bit was probably the most important person for Ally, more than Buffy or him, and she wouldn't calm down until they found the Nibblet and took her back home.

And just as they neared one of the several graveyards in Sunnydale, they heard a scream that made their legs pump even faster, sprinting to the forest next to the eerie burial ground.

When they got there, they found Giles surrounded by a bunch of vampires behind their cars, their lights letting the new arrivals easily see everyone in the clearing, and therefore see another vamp holding Dawn by her neck.

Ally saw red. No one threatened her baby sis and got away with it. Call her overprotective, but family was important for her. Family and friends were her life. She was sent to protect Dawn, and protect her she would. Even if she had to tear that hand off the vampire's arm.

"You let my sister go or I'll rip out your entrails and make you eat them." She hissed, approaching them.

She was brought to a halt as Buffy arrived at the scene, standing right next to the Watcher. "Dawn are you...?" She stopped, looking around, focusing on the teen. "Where you parking, with a vamp?"

"I-I didn't know he was dead!" The girl defended herself, taking a step away from her lover boy.

"Living dead." He corrected, only to get shushed by his victim.

"Shut up!"

"How could you not know?" The senior Slayer continued, outraged, making Ally want to smack her.

"Buff, priorities!" The other slayer snapped, nodding towards their sister's companion.

"I just met him!" The teen insisted, looking nervously between her sisters.

"Oh!" That was just the last drop for the eldest brunette. She couldn't believe how senseless her sister could be. "Oh, so you were parking in the woods with a boy you just met."

The boy just didn't seem to get it was a personal discussion. "We've seen each other at parties."

Ally fixed him with a death glare, her hand wrapping around the hilt of her sword. "Shut up." Her eyes moved back to Dawn, filling with disappointment. "I don't believe you!"

"Oh, like you've never fallen for a vampire?" The kid complained, nodding towards the bleach blond assessing their opponents.

"It's different. Have you missed the part where he is good?"

"Evil." Spike rectified, only to be shushed like the other boy.

"Not helping." His girlfriend snapped, apparently making the rest of vampires lose their patience.

"Uh, excuse me! Can we fight now?" A big vampire from one of the cars asked, bored of their argument.

Buffy looked around the circle surrounding them, stake in hand just in case, looking completely at ease. "Hey, didn't anyone come here to just make out?" A couple at the back, behind some bushes raised their hands. "Aw, that's sweet. You run." As the couple ran away, the blonde Slayer glanced at the big vampire. "You scream."

And thus the battle started. Spike and Giles went for a few vampires on the sides as others attacked the two Slayers, Buffy calmly staking them as Ally unsheathed her sword and beheaded another, his body exploding into a pile of dust before it hit the floor.

Meanwhile, the vampire-boy grabbed Dawn, realising what he had gotten into. "Your sisters are slayers? I totally get it! I knew there was something about you."

Insulted, Dawn kneed him in the groin, taking her chance to run away from him. The other two girls were too occupied fighting the other vampires, the blonde helping her Watcher while the brunette prevented another two undead from attacking her boyfriend as he fought the big one farther away.

Ally was suddenly attacked by two vampires at once, one grabbing her from behind while the other punched her in the gut, the impact lessened by the material of the costume. She lost hold of the sword, yet she didn't stop fighting, kicking the creature attacking her in the chin and the nose, sending him tumbling backwards as she headbutted the one behind her. His hold slackened, allowing her to break free and hit him with a roundhouse kick to his neck, effectively knocking him down.

None of the vampires ready to attack her yet, she picked up her sword and made quick work of one of them, the other only having enough time to stand up before she aimed a side kick to his gut, the vampire hitting a nearby tree. Out of luck or strategy, he didn't know, a branch had buried itself in his back, its pointy end sticking out of his chest, right where his heart was. He barely realized what had happened before he burst into a cloud of dark dust, finally dead.

Buffy had just dusted her vampire, joining the other Slayer in their search for their baby sister, who they soon found lying on the ground, fighting not to cry while she clutched a pencil in her hand.

She had killed her date. She had killed a vampire.

She had lied to them. 

* * *

Once they were all home, Xander and Anya just leaving, Ally let herself fall down on the couch, her head between her hands. Buffy seemed to be fine, and Dawn was a wrecked mess in the dining room, yet none of them had tried to talk to her. Buffy was avoiding it, and Ally was just hurt, so disappointed she didn't want to lose control and say something that she would later regret. But... How could Dawn be so stupid? Why did she think she had to lie to _her_ , to Ally? Hadn't she been understanding? Hadn't she been there for her when Dawn needed her? Why did she think she had to betray her trust?

She was so disappointed she really didn't want to talk to Dawn right then.

"You alright, love?" Spike asked, sitting next to her and wrapping one of his arms around her.

"Yeah..." She lifted her head and gave him a light smile, shifting so she was closer to him. "You should go home, I don't think it's going to be nice around here in a while." She suggested, her hand coming to rest on his thigh.

"Guess I should bugger off. Something about big bads not venturing far from their crypts on Halloween." He agreed, looking up to meet the other Slayer's gaze.

Buffy nodded, averting her gaze as the bleach blond kissed her sister and left the house, actually wishing him a "good fight". Ally was at least happy they seemed to be getting along.

When her vampire was gone, the brunette let her head fall between her hands again, thinking about how she should act with Dawn, knowing being nice and supporting wasn't the right way right then. What could she do? Buffy wasn't ready to take charge, as she so clearly showed when she subtly told Giles to take care of it, the Watcher being caught off guard. He looked over towards his newest protégée, knowing she was too hurt to ask her to do it.

He would have to be the adult once more.

Ally barely listened to what Giles and Dawn said in the other room, her own mind going back in time, swimming through memories of times when she had been the kid, the rebellious teen and someone had been there to tell her off when her parents were away and she messed up. She had looked up to that person for years, even after she was gone. She never forgot those times, those little bits of wisdom and discipline she had received, always in a way that made her feel cared for instead of being treated like a brat. Maybe that was what Dawn needed.

Would she be fit for that role? Could she be the one to set her in the right path?

When Giles left the dining room and Dawn headed upstairs, Ally knew it was her moment.

"Dawn." She called out, following the teen to their room, taking in the kid's ashamed expression and the jacket she clutched in her arms. "We need to talk." She stated, her voice firm, no room for replies.

The young slayer walked around the teen and entered their room, not turning to see if her sister was following her, knowing she would. She approached the window and crossed her arms over her chest, remembering every little detail of the time she had been the one waiting to be berated. She remembered every single one of the words used in that conversation, every single one of the postures, the expressions.

"Sit down." She ordered, not looking back but hearing the sound of Dawn sitting on her bed. "You were alone with a vampire in the woods. You were unprotected at night, out on the streets. You were about to get bit, and either killed or turned." Ally pivoted in place so she was able to see the kid, to face her and let Dawn see her expression.

"I know. I was stupid to let all that happen." She muttered, not able to look directly at the eldest brunette for more than a second.

"No. That's all a given in this town." Ally took a couple steps closer to the bed, her costume making her look even more intimidating. "What isn't a given is you lying to us, to me." She paused, trying to reign her emotions so she didn't raise her voice. _Don't raise your voice, improve your argument_. Dawn needed to understand so she could correct her attitude, not feel like everyone was against her. "How can I trust you now, Dawn? I don't care about the vampire, or the making out with a boy in a park. Hell, most teens do that, I knew you would at some point. But I thought you would tell me. That I'd know when the time came, and I could be there for you if something went wrong, because I would know what was going on. You _lied_ to me." She let her arms fall to her sides, not taking her eyes off the girl. "How can I trust you now?"

Dawn didn't answer, her lower lip trembling and her hands clutching the jacket even tighter. She had never thought it would get to that point. She had thought they would never know, that they would never find out and she was simply going to have a Halloween night with her friends and a boy she liked. How could she have been so stupid?

She lifted her gaze when she heard Ally walk around the room, pick up her bag and head to the door.

"Are you leaving?" The teen sobbed, making her sister pause at the door.

"I don't want to stay here right now. Go to sleep." With that, she left the room and closed the door, going to the bathroom to change her outfit to some normal clothes before leaving the house and heading towards Spike's crypt.


	10. Chapter 10

Even though most of the members of the Gang had almost forgotten about Dawn's escapade on Halloween, Ally was still distant. However, she went with her sister to high school and picked her up in the afternoon, helped her do her homework and made breakfast for everyone, but Dawn knew their relationship was damaged. Ally never slept in the house anymore, leaving right after dinner every night to patrol and spend the night over at Spike's, going back home early in the morning.

Dawn missed her sister. Buffy had been quite detached ever since she had been resurrected, but Ally had been OK, they had been fine. They obviously weren't anymore.

Unlike what Dawn thought, it was harder than Ally expected, being emotionally so far away from her baby sister. So she turned to her other sister and their Watcher, trying to keep herself busy with training and patrolling. She just couldn't get past the betrayal yet. It was too soon. She had to see a change first, and change took time.

They were investigating a series of strange events, fires in parks and the appearance of poor unfortunate dogs' bodies near the fires. Their throats were slit and their tails cut, churning Ally's stomach and making her chest burn in anger. Who could do that to such pure creatures? Who was the son of a bitch who had already slaughtered seven dogs in the previous week?

The Watcher thought it was related to dark witchcraft. Willow and Tara were shocked to find signs of magic, magic that could be performed by humans, as heartless as they had to be to do something like that. However, the Slayers were more proactive, suggesting they patrolled the parks that were still left untouched that night in hopes of finding the bastard behind those actions.

Night fell and found the Slayers walking across one of the parks near the area where most fires had been set, crossbows in hand and protective stones charmed by Tara and Willow in their pockets, just in case.

About a quarter of an hour after their arrival, right when they were about to head to the next park, they noticed a shadow moving near the trees far off in the distance, on one side of the park. The Slayers exchanged a look and moved closer, silently, holding their crossbows tight in their hands.

A cloaked figure with its back to them was kneeling on the floor, placing several different objects in a studied order before itself, unaware of the women nearing it. A dark bag was near the figure, something moving inside of it, scratching the material from the inside.

"I really hope that's not a doggie there, 'cause animal cruelty is one of the things that piss me off the most." Ally let herself known once both Buffy and her had their weapons trained on the figure.

It turned around in a swift motion, standing up with no trouble, specially odd for someone so old. It was a woman, looking old enough to be a grandmother, wrinkly skin tinted grey, sickly. Her eyes were yellow, like a cat's, and her lips curled in disgust when she saw the crossbows.

"And you really don't want to meet an angry Slayer." Buffy added, slowly moving towards the bag as the witch backed away, bending to let the puppy out without taking her eyes off the cloaked woman.

"You won't stop me." The witch hissed, raising her hands just as they started glowing with red energy, making the youngest Slayer let out the first arrow. The witch shrieked in pain as the projectile buried in her chest, her hand moving towards her attacker, a red orb launching itself towards Ally.

The brunette flew back from the hit of the orb, landing almost twenty feet from her previous position, Buffy shouting her name just as the witch shot her second orb. Buffy managed to fire her arrow first, this second dart hitting the witch in the middle of her forehead. She fell dead on the floor, but her spell still hit the senior Slayer, sending her straight towards the forest, hidden from view among the shrubs and trees.

As the witch lay dead and the Slayers unconscious, nobody saw the stones in their pockets glow, absorbing part of the magic that had hit them, lessening the otherwise fatal effects.

* * *

A couple hours later, Spike found his girl in the park, still knocked out, and rushed back to the Summers home with her in his arms, worried sick about her wellbeing.

He had gone out to try to find her, somewhat aware that something bad was going on when she didn't turn up in his cemetery at the usual time. He knew they were looking for a witch, but if everything had gone alright, they would have finished way earlier or called it a night.

When he arrived at the house everyone was already asleep, yet he carelessly woke the Watcher and the witches up, told them what he knew and stood aside while they examined her. Her pulse was fine, she was breathing easily and her temperature was normal, so they decided to let her sleep and ask her about the encounter in the morning.

But they didn't go to sleep. Where was Buffy?

Giles and Spike set out to search for the other Slayer while the witches waited back home, not wanting to leave the teen and young slayer asleep and unprotected, or not be there in case Buffy came back on her own.

The Watcher and vampire searched the park for hours, the latter leaving before sunrise to avoid turning into a pile of dust. Giles stayed for some more time, his efforts only paying off when he heard a groan coming from the nearby forest, leading him to his long time protégée.

Right around the same time, Ally woke up in the Summers home, an unusual heat warming her up from the moment she opened her eyes.

* * *

She came down the stairs to find Dawn and the witches gathered in the kitchen, the couple informing the teen about the latest events concerning her sisters.

"Ally!" Dawn shot up from her seat and hugged her sister tightly, worry constricting her chest. "Oh, god, are you OK?"

"Uh, yeah." The Slayer croaked, voice raspy still. She rubbed her eyes and looked around the kitchen, confused at her change of location. "What happened? I was at the park and..."

"Spike found you at the park, unconscious, probably a couple hours after you were knocked out." Will informed her, slowly approaching her, measuring her words. "He brought you here but Buffy..."

"Spike." The Slayer muttered, interrupting her friend. They were all silenced at the change in demeanour on the girl, her breathing getting heavier and her eyes wide.

The heat in Ally's belly hit an all-time-high, her arms hugging her middle unconsciously, her pupils getting bigger. Spike. Her vampire. The one who could take her from being a sad ball on the couch to a sweaty mess in bed in a matter of a few minutes, his touch both soft and rough, his lips light or bruising. Oh, her Spike.

She left the kitchen in a sprint, running upstairs to grab her boots and barely letting the other girls reach the door to the room before she was running out again. Willow grabbed her arm to stop her, making her turn towards them.

"What's going on, Alls?" She questioned, Tara and Dawn next to her, staring at the flushed woman before them.

"I have to see him." She whined, trying to still move towards the stairs.

"Why? He was fine when he left. We've got to find..."

"I _have_ to see him. I _need_ him. Now." She snapped, squeezing her thighs together, hinting the witches as to what she needed.

"You need to focus, Ally! Buffy's still..."

"I need Spike!" The Slayer cut, ripping her arm from the witches hold and running out of the house, her baby sister running after her.

Ally came face to face with Xander and Anya soon after she left the house, halting her on her race towards the crypt.

"Hey, Allygator! What's wrong?" Xander wondered, looking her up and down, her clothes wrinkled and her breathing fast. "We thought you were still asleep. Will called half an hour ago."

"I need to go." She tried to walk around the couple but Anya grabbed as Willow had, not long before.

"Everything alright? Is Buffy back?"

"What? I don't know. I have to go."

She set off again, just in time for Dawn to catch up with the couple and tell them about Ally's odd behaviour. They decided to split up, Xander joining the witches just in case Giles called and told them anything about Buffy, still missing, while Anya and Dawn followed Ally.

* * *

They managed to reach the Slayer as she stood unmoving in the middle of the crypt, looking around, panting from the race and the search of the crypt she had carried out in the time it took them to catch up with her. Her vampire was not there. He was neither on the main level nor in the tunnels, leaving his love's need unsatisfied.

"What the hell's going on?" The ex-demon asked in between breaths as they neared the Slayer.

"He's not here." Ally whined, finally fully looking at them, letting the blonde see her darkened eyes. "I need him, but he's not here."

Realization hit the engaged woman, connecting the pieces of information she had gathered from what Xander had told her and her friend's reactions. "Oh god."

"What?" Dawn glanced between her sister and Anya, completely unaware of what was going on. "What is it?"

"The witch hit her with a spell, right? I think she was hit with a lust spell."

* * *

Dawn and Anya were doing their best to guide their lust ridden friend to the Magic Box, trying to divert her attention from a certain bleach blond vampire that had her whining endlessly.

"We need Willow." Anya voiced, seeing the brunette Slayer's eyes move to a group of young men not far from them, one of them looking back at Ally, smirking and making the girl bite her lip in response.

"We need a phone. She's too strong for us." Dawn realized as pulling her sister in the right direction became even harder.

The ex-demon looked around frantically, turning the corner of the street to find themselves in an area filled with bars and coffee shops. "Bars! There must be a phone available in at least one of them! Let's split up, it will take less time and we can't bring her with us inside a bar in her current state."

The teen and the blonde woman pushed the Slayer to a stretch of wall near a coffee shop, a few columns making her less visible to the people on the street just in case, and separated from any groups or flirty boys she was so vulnerable to right in that moment.

"Stay here, we'll be back soon" Dawn ordered before they both took off, rushing so they didn't have to leave her alone for too long while a growing feeling of urgency constricted the Slayer's chest.

Once her friends were out of sight, Ally looked around, her eyes rapidly assessing her surroundings, until she glanced inside the coffee shop from one of its windows, her eyes finding a pair of light blue ones almost instantly, like attracted by a magnetic force. The other's eyes widened when they saw her and their owner stood from his seat on one of the single tables, leaving the coffee and magazine he had been reading forgotten behind him. He soon came out, nearing the girl with a shocked expression. "Ally." That was his only word, the only one he managed to utter before she launched herself on him.

Her arms went around his neck, one of her hands gripping his hair and bringing his mouth against hers, meeting in a heated and bruising kiss that had them both groaning. She pushed him against the wall, only for him to immediately take control and switch places, her back hitting the bricks with a thud, yet not enough to break their kiss. One of his hands went to her neck, the other to the small of her back, holding her against him as she tried to get their bodies as close as possible. Their mouths battled, tongues entwining and dancing ferociously, leaving them both breathless.

When their mouths drew apart, he leaned back to stare at her face and make sure it was the same Ally, his arms still caging her, his expression bewildered.

She, on the other hand, smirked, eyes dark with lust, a look he had never seen on her before. "Good to see you again, Lindsey."

* * *

Buffy woke up to find her Watcher's hands hovering over her, surrounded by trees and bushes, twigs and leaves sticking to her clothes, hair and skin. She took one look at the man beside her and sighed, once again finding herself in her personal Hell; life.

"Ugh, I'm still alive." She didn't know what came to her, what made her say it. She had kept those thoughts to herself since she'd been back, only letting Spike know in a moment of weakness. And surprisingly enough, he kept his word of not telling the others. Not even Ally, although he had been quite freaked, thinking his girlfriend had been dragged out of Heaven, anguish clearly painted in his face.

She snapped out of her memories, realizing her Watcher was talking.

"Yes-yes. We were all very worried something worse had happened to you when Spike only found Ally. Let me help you." He held one of her arms to aid her in standing up, looking her up and down. "How are you feeling?"

Again, her mouth seemed to have a life of its own. "Like Hell."

"I'm guessing you got a pretty hard hit, for you to have flown all the way to the trees. You will recover soon, I'm sure." He half-smiled, thinking her words applied only to her current situation, and not the whole time she'd been back. "Come on, we should get you back home. Your sisters should be awake by now, and everyone will be worried about you."

Afraid of spilling any other well-kept truths, she decided to keep her mouth shut. It felt like once she opened it, she lost control of what came out of it. She couldn't allow herself to let her secret out anymore. She couldn't let them know. 

* * *

When the senior Slayer and Watcher arrived home, they found the witches and Xander waiting anxiously for them, all of them jumping at the sight of the blonde girl. They flittered around her, asking her where she had been and why it had taken her so long to get to them, only for Buffy to avoid answering, not trusting her own words. She raised a hand to stop their questions and pointed upstairs, trying to let them know she would like to have a shower and change clothes. However, they didn't seem to understand.

"Dawn? She went after Ally, with Anya. Alls just... kinda freaked out and ran out, saying she had to see Spike. I don't know what got to her." The redhead explained, only for the Slayer to shake her head and huff.

She pointed upstairs once again and then gestured for them to wait, sprinting to the upper level and into her room.

* * *

Right around the time Buffy went back downstairs, the phone rang, Tara hurrying to answer it, soon joining the group once again. It was Dawn on the phone, informing them of their situation and telling them to meet the other girls at the Magic Box as soon as possible. What was going on?

* * *

Meanwhile, the odd couple outside of the coffee shop resumed their make out session, Ally sliding one of her fingers into one of the loops of his belt and pulling him with her towards a nearby alley, away from any watching eyes. Lost in their moment of passion, Lindsey hoisted the girl up, her legs locking around his waist as he carried her the rest of the way until her back hit a wall again, his lips moving towards her neck and biting down gently, a shuddering breath escaping her lips.

How many times had he thought about her just like that? Had she ever imagined themselves in that situation? _She must have had_ , he told himself, thoroughly pleased with her reaction at seeing him again. He might have a chance, away from L.A., only the two of them with no idiots to get in the middle.

Then, a voice coming from the entrance to the alley made Lindsey pull away from her enough to turn his head, wondering who would have the guts to interrupt an obviously busy couple.

"Ally!" A young brunette girl ran towards them, glaring at the man holding her sister. "What's wrong with you? Let her go!" She screamed, taking him aback.

"Dawn? Ally?" Another blonde woman joined the brunette, Dawn, fixing the man with a death glare. "Get away from her!" She screamed, grabbing his arm and pulling, Lindsey dropping the girl in his arms as she pouted. What was going on?

"What...? I wasn't forcing her!" He complained, his gaze moving back and forth among the three women, sending a questioning look towards the only one he knew. Could someone explain to him what the hell was going on? Why did they so determinedly separate them?

"You don't just start making out with strangers in the street, no matter how willing they seem to be!" The ex-demon shouted, bringing the Slayer behind her and away from the unknown man.

"She's not a stranger! Ally, tell them!" He defended himself, face flushed from the make out session and the shame from being caught in the middle of it, as well as the anger that had started simmering in his chest.

"You know him?" Dawn turned toward her sister, eyebrows high up in her forehead.

"Yeah, it's Lindsey, now _please_ just let us..." She begged, trying to get back to the man.

"No. You are not in your right mind, we have to get you to Willow." Anya cut, her gaze finding the man again. "Are you two friends, or lovers, or...?"

"Friends, from L.A. I think." He frowned, not very sure what their current situation was.

The blonde girl struggled with the Slayer, pushing her back again before Ally launched herself on the man once more. "Then help us get her to another friend. She's under the effects of a lust spell. We have to get her back to normal. And don't you even think about taking advantage of her!"

He felt like he had been showered with ice cold water. Lust spell. That explained her behaviour. Of course, why else would she act like that with him? After such a long time? If he hadn't been so caught up in the moment, he might have realized something was wrong.

He nodded, his face setting into a firm expression, jaw clenching. "Lead the way." He strode forward and roughly grabbed his old time friend from the arm, keeping the rest of her body away from him. It seemed to convince the other two, who did as he told, heading out of the alley as the bewitched girl whined at the lack of intimate physical contact with her interest.

Trying to make the walk towards the magic shop as nice as possible for the man whose affair they had interrupted, Dawn looked back towards him and her sister, her voice turning much nicer that before. "I'm Dawn, by the way, and this is Anya."

"Nice to meet you. Lindsey McDonald." He nodded once again, watching Ally from the corner of his eye as she tried to curl herself on his side. "I take it you are her friends?"

"Yup. So you met her in L.A.?" At his nod, she took her opportunity to find out more about her sister's past, as the eldest brunette didn't seem to mind much right then. "Long ago?"

It seemed an eternity of frustration and endless anger to him, only lightened by his brief encounters with her. "Almost three years, I'd say." Three years since the first moment his eyes landed on her. He remembered it as if it had been the previous day.

"Were you close?" She had fallen into step beside him, letting Anya take the lead, who was also paying attention to their conversation.

Lindsey was soon lost in his memories, thinking back to the times he had spent with Ally back in L.A. Not many and not very long, for the most part. "Not much. Not until a bit before she left, anyway."

"But you fancied her." Anya chimed in, not realizing that was an uncomfortable subject for most people, specially those you had just met.

He frowned once again, not really wanting to answer that, before sighing and confirming her statement. "Has she been here long?"

"Around nine months." Dawn answered, walking around him to approach her sister, wanting to be close to her once again, like before Halloween.

"She must have come right after leaving L.A." He mused, thinking about the penchant for danger he was sure his friend had. Of all the places she could have gone to, she had told him she'd visit, she had to end up in Sunnydale. He knew what that place was, he knew about the Hellmouth. But he knew that saving people was what she really wanted to do, what she felt like she _had_ to do. He knew about her story, he knew how she ended up in L.A. There really was no taking her out of that world, not that he was going to try to. It was something he liked about her. She was the epitome of selfless courage, quite the opposite of him, he had always thought. It was part of her charm.

"Why did she leave?" The teen wondered, trying to grab Ally's attention, divert it from the man she was close to eye-fucking, as hard as he tried to avoid her gaze.

"Things got complicated with her... friends." His voice turned strained, hands turning into fists at the memories. However, he fixed the teen with a firm glare, aware of what she was trying to do. "If she hasn't told you, I don't think I should. Ask her when she's back to normal."

The teen's eyes moved to the ground, ashamed of herself, not wanting to make her sister angrier with her. She just wanted to know her better. To go back to how they were before.

They walked the rest of the way in relative silence, only broken by the half-whines of the Slayer, still in hopes of getting back to the make out session with the frustrated man.

* * *

The group got to the Magic Box just in time to meet the rest of the Gang, who stared at the new man suspiciously as he pulled the girl inside the shop, taking in her strange behaviour. Well, Buffy hadn't uttered a word since she'd arrived home, so they weren't all that surprised. They were spelled by the same witch, after all.

"So, who's the new boy?" Xander asked, following the man, not wanting to let the girl out of his sight with the stranger.

"Lindsey McDonald. I'm a friend of Ally." He sternly informed the new arrivals, not letting his friend go, holding her at arms distance. "Who can fix her?"

"That would be us." The witches approached, looking rather shy, and took the girl from him, leading her and the tiny blonde one towards the middle of the store, the brunette squirming, her eyes still set on Lindsey. "Ally, do you have the stone I gave you last night?" The redhead asked, the junior Slayer barely focusing enough to take the round rock out of her pocket. "Buffy?" The other one copied her sister, handing the stone over and holding Ally as she started moving towards McDonald again.

"Alls, stop it." Buffy snapped, applying more pressure to make the other look at her.

"I just want to..." She tried to wriggle her way out of the blonde's grasp, only to fail. "Oh, come on! I can't find Spike, I need it!"

Her eyes got harder than Ally had ever seen, feeling her fingers tightening their hold. If she had been a normal human, that would have hurt. "You don't. Now stop or I'll tie you to the chair. I'm not the biggest fan of Captain Peroxide, but I'm definitely not letting you throw yourself to the first man you can find. I'm fed up of this world as it is, I don't need you to make this Hell any worse with domestic issues."

She shut her mouth a second later, when she realized what she had just said, noticing the silence that followed her words. _No, fuck, no, no, no,_ she half-screamed in her head, wishing she had kept her mouth shut. But she was fed up, truly done with the situation, with seeing her sister act like a whiny mess. That was not Ally, as she was not going to let her keep it up anymore. She had lost a good man for stupid reasons, she was going to prevent her sister from doing the same thing. Except, the vampire wasn't exactly 'good' or a 'man'. Yet, she couldn't deny the bleach blond was absolutely in love with Ally. The 'die for you' kind of love that was so rare and so precious.

"Buffy?" Dawn approached her, worried about her eldest sister then, even Ally stopping her movements. "Hell?"

"We left Hell behind, Buff." That was the first sentence Ally had accomplished that day that didn't make her sound like a needy-horny woman.

"I left Heaven behind." The words were out of her mouth before she could do anything to stop them, even achieving to cool down her hormonal sister, who stared at her in horror.

Silence ensued, even Lindsey realizing something big was going on right there and then, stepping back to let them deal with it. His eyes moved to his friend once again, taking in her slightly rumpled appearance, messy hair and wrinkled clothes, from they kissing or something else, he didn't know. The tiny blonde girl, Buffy, had mentioned a 'Captain Peroxide', and he began to realize Ally had to be somewhat romantically connected to him, judging from Buffy's words.

"What?" The redhead sobbed, Buffy's revelation starting to sink in.

Knowing there was no going back, the senior Slayer looked at her friends, aware that she had to tell them the truth. Not because she was, probably due to the spell that had hit her, forced to do it, but because she had already dropped the bomb, she might as well finish what she started.

"I'm not sure where I was, but I wasn't in Hell. I _am_ in Hell. You dragged me out of Heaven. There's so much pain, and everything is hard... Now, do... do something. Rid us of the spells. Please." She hadn't meant for her words to be that... true, she didn't mean to make her friends feel so bad.

Tara was the first to react, collecting herself, taking Ally's stone in her hand and muttering a few words, making it glow, then taking a book from one of the nearby shelves and a jar from behind the counter and approaching the brunette Slayer. Her girlfriend soon followed, trying to not let her emotions get in the way of helping her friends, if only long enough to free them of the magic that partly controlled them.

* * *

An hour or chanting and burning herbs later, both Slayers were clean of any magic the dark witch had attacked them with, and suddenly aware they were many things they had to fix. The blonde looked towards Willow as the brunette approached the blue-eyed man who had kept quite for some time then. She gestured outside with her head, him taking the lead. She looked back once at the group she was leaving behind, knowing they were going to have to talk for a while.

She had some talking to do too. Heck, she'd practically assaulted him. She so had to explain things to him.

* * *

The odd couple silently walked over to a bench not far from the Magic Box, Ally awkwardly sitting down as she thought about how she should apologize. _Sorry I kissed you? Sorry I jumped you?_ Well, at least she had the main element.

Lindsey quietly sat next to her, his gaze lost on the people moving before them, yet his attention was still on the girl. From the corner of his eye he noticed she drew her legs toward her chest, wrapping her arms around them in an attempt to protect herself.

"Sorry." She muttered, glancing at him from over her knees, waiting for him to fully look at her. He placed his forearms on his thighs and leaned forward, clasping his hands together and turning his head to look at her. "I'm sorry I practically attacked you and..." She paused, her eyes widening, her change in demeanour confusing him. "Your hand! You have your hand again!"

She let her legs down and leaned towards him, taking both his hands in hers, examining them in awe, rolling the sleeves of his shirt to see the thin paling scar on his right wrist. He chuckled at her, amused by her reaction, enjoying the warmth of her skin over his. "You only now notice it?"

"Not like I was thinking straight before. It was very... primary." Her voice dropped as her eyes followed the line that went around his wrist, tracing it with one of her fingertips. "How? I mean... It's amazing. How?" Her gaze lifted to his face, still shocked.

"Wolfram and Hart. There's not much they can't get." Although he was relishing in his time with her, it was obvious he didn't have much appreciation for that firm anymore.

"They?" She caught on, frowning lightly.

His eyes stared into hers, knowing she would like the news. How would she react? The first time she had thought he'd do it, and hadn't, she'd been so disappointed... It was the first time he had questioned his decision, the first of many to come, even after she'd left L.A. "I don't work for them anymore. I left L.A. and that place. It was... too wrong."

"That's great!" She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly, her happiness soaring, pride filling her chest. Finally! Finally, he'd done it. "God, Lindsey, that's so good, I can't believe..."

His arms moved around her, holding her against him, savouring the moment. He could count the times they'd been so close with one hand; the first one, after he'd helped her get Wolfram and Hart off her back, when they threatened to reveal her real identity and her location to the public. She'd hugged him back then too, and he'd felt proud of himself, truly proud of how he'd used his knowledge to help someone else. It was a rare occasion, after all.

"So, what do you do now? How come you're here?" She leaned back, sitting on her heels and resting her side against the back of the bench.

"How come _you_ are here?" He shot back, his face setting into a light frown. "Hellmouth? Really? I thought you were going to live a bit, stay away from the demons, vampires, and the slaying."

She bit her lower lip and averted her eyes; that was the reaction she had feared, and this was _Lindsey_. He was the least likely to get angry with her. "I was passing by, noticed the high rate of death here and... stayed. And I don't think I really had a choice, either. I was destined to be here. And, the teen girl, Dawn? She's my sister. Buffy too. I have _sisters_ , Lindsey. I have a family. With the Christmas dinners, and movie nights, and everyone having breakfast together kind of family."

"The point of you leaving L.A. was getting away from the slaying, Ally. Not going straight to the Hellmouth. You should travel, live a normal life for some time." He tried to convince her, maybe she could even leave with him. He was free, after all, and so was she.

"Not possible anymore." She lightly smiled, foreseeing his reaction to what she was going to tell him.

"What do you mean, not possible?"

"I'm a Slayer."

There was silence for a couple seconds, his mind processing her words, unable to place a meaning behind them for some time.

"What?!"

"I was activated six months ago." She held back a laugh at his expression, so shocked and caught off guard that he had literally moved back in the seat.

A few seconds later, his eyes moved towards the magic shop, his frown deepening, disconcert painted all over his face. "But the previous Slayers haven't died."

"Actually, yeah." She corrected, a sinking feeling setting on her chest. Buffy. She had been in Heaven. Heaven. Why had Ally been sent to Hell then? They'd died in the same portal, same way. Why was she sent to Hell?

"Faith Lehane is still in jail, and Buffy Summers, there, is alive." He pointed towards the shop with his thumb, disbelief colouring his voice.

"Doesn't mean she's been alive all this time."

"What?" His eyebrows moved high up in his forehead, blinking a couple times, pretty sure he'd heard wrong.

"Buffy died six months ago. And I did, too."

* * *

It had been way too much information for Lindsey for a single day, and he was pretty sure Ally should be with her friends, given the situation he was sure was going on inside the store. He held his hands up so she wouldn't bombard him with more information. First, finding her, of all places, outside a coffee shop in the Hellmouth. Then, the kiss, and the revelation she was under a lust spell. After that, her being a Slayer, and to finish off, knowing she had died. Died. Like, being buried six feet under kind of death. He just couldn't take much more information in that moment.

He was getting rusty.

He gave her his number, as did she, and promised to call her the following day, letting her go back to her friends and _family_.

She had a family. She had two sisters, one of which was a Slayer.

Too much information for a single day.

Once he arrived to his motel room, he remembered something he couldn't believe he had forgotten about the Slayer, Buffy. Did Ally know...?

* * *

When Ally got back inside the shop, silence welcomed her, even though she could see her friends sitting around the table, Willow trying not to cry, the rest of them staring aghast at her eldest sister.

"Buffy?"

The blonde turned at her call, looking all the bit tired, like any drop of energy she'd had before had left her at once.

"Why don't you tell them, Alls? Why don't you tell them where we were?" Her eyes were hard, her voice strained, as if she was blaming Ally for not being the one to tell the truth.

Ally held herself back from snapping, her words still coming out sharper than intended. "I don't know in what kind of dimension you were, Buff, but _I_ was in Hell. I don't think torture and screams fit in with the description of Heaven." Buffy and her stared down each other, the blonde being the first to avert her gaze to glance back at her redhead friend.

"I'm going home." The senior Slayer announced, not waiting for anyone to reply before she left the shop in a rush.

Heaven.

She'd being pulled out of Heaven.

The Gang stayed sat around the table for some time, still trying to come to terms with Buffy's revelation, even Ally finally letting her disappointment aside and sitting next to Dawn, bringing an arm around the teen as she laid her head on her big sister's shoulder, eyes unseeing, mind reeling.

And there they all sat until Tara decided to do something useful, taking the stones the Slayers had carried with her upstairs to the more advanced section of the store, probably to research what kind of magic the dark witch had used. Willow was still in shock, tears streaming silently down her cheeks.

A while later, Ally noticed Tara look at her girlfriend from the platform, her face contorted in what could only be described as pain, heart-broken and on the verge of tears. And she knew, Ally knew, it had nothing to do with Buffy.

* * *

Buffy was in her room when the two brunettes got home, Ally's hand still holding Dawn's to keep her grounded, the witches having gone with Xander and Anya, probably to talk about their best friend's confession. Still, neither Dawn nor Ally dared go talk to her right then. They suspected she needed space, she would come downstairs when she was ready.

"I'm gonna go get lunch ready. Go study for that maths test while I do it." Ally ordered softly, squeezing Dawn's hand one last time.

Not five minutes had passed when the teen appeared in the kitchen, sitting behind the island while her sister raised one eyebrow, asking for an explanation. "Can't focus right now." Dawn shrugged, her eyes following Ally's as they cut some vegetables. "Tell me about your friend, Lindsey."

Ally smirked; she knew it wouldn't take Dawn long to start wanting to gossip. And it was a great way to take her mind off their sister's bomb. "What do you want to know?"

Dawn folded her arms on the counter, resting her chin on them. "He said he liked you, but he's not that ex you've mentioned a couple times, is he?"

"No. We were friends."

Ally turned to start cooking on the stove, still glancing at Dawn to let her know she was listening. They hadn't talked much about anything except schoolwork since Halloween, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off the young Slayer's chest. She'd missed Dawn. She'd probably gotten her point across by then, anyway. "So you two never... you were never together or anything? God, it must have been a bit of a shock for him to... you know... you two in the alley."

"Yeah. I mean, we did kiss once, the last night I spent in L.A., but... that was not really... It wasn't going to work back then, and it's not going to work now."

That made Dawn perk up, her eyes widening with curiosity. "You kissed? So, you liked him too."

"Yeah. He's cute and we got along, we even met at a bar on Fridays, but... our situation was a bit complicated back then. I was going to leave the next day, and I was just staying in his apartment at night before I got on a bus out of the city. I had just broken up with my ex and..."

Dawn knew they were approaching a delicate subject, something her sister had avoided talking about. "Was it because of... your friends? He said things got complicated with them."

Ally nodded, her mind going back in time, _ten months_ , even though it felt like a whole other life. That last day had been chaotic. She had just packed her things and left her previous residence, Lindsey being the only friend she knew outside of her main group of friends that would be happy about the end of her relationship. She was only going to say goodbye and take a bus that evening, but he convinced her to stay the night and wait until morning, when even buses were safer.

"Are you going to tell Spike?"

Ally froze in place. She hadn't thought about Spike. There had been so many things going on... Shit, she had to tell him. She had to tell him she'd kissed Lindsey. God, she had to tell him.

"Shit." She growled under her breath, cursing herself for not remembering she had a boyfriend. "I'm gonna have to tell him."

"Or not... I mean, it was a spell, you weren't..."

"I know, but I'm not gonna keep it from him. It's not like I cheated on him on purpose. Doesn't mean he hasn't the right to know." She glanced from the saucepan to Dawn, knowing that the sooner, the better. "Will you be alright here for a while? I'm gonna try to find him."

The kid rolled her eyes, flicking her hand in the air. "I'll be fine. Buffy's upstairs and we're _home_. Go."

And with that, Ally ran out of the house and toward the cemetery, hoping that Spike was already there. The sooner she got it out of her chest, the better.

* * *

When she didn't find her vampire in his crypt, she went for the only other place she knew he could go to during the day. She had never really been inside, but she guessed it was high time she did.

The demon bar.

Would it be anything like the one she went to in L.A.?

Short answer; no. Long answer; comparing the demon bar in Sunnydale to the one in L.A. was like comparing a cockroach to a unicorn.

Dirty, stinking and filled with depressed looking demons, most of whom looked up at seeing her cross the threshold, the place was the epitome of discourage.

"Slayer!" One of them shouted, jumping up from his chair and backing towards another door, probably an emergency escape.

"Calm down, I'm not here for you." She assured, looking around to find everybody had stopped drinking and were tense as bowstrings. "I'm not here for _any_ of you. I'm looking for somebody else. Go on drinking." She approached the bar, the blue-ish demon serving the drinks staring at her wearily.

"I won't tell you a word, Slayer. I won't be to blame for the death of one of my patrons." He hissed, stepping backwards, away from her.

She sighed, desperately missing the karaoke bar, where she was always welcome and the demons were even nice to her. Specially the owner. "I'm not going to kill anyone right now. I'm looking for Spike. I know he comes here every now and then."

"Uh, the vampire. Yes, he's at the back. Although he doesn't usually come so early in the day." He pointed towards the back door with his thumb, or one of his thumbs at least, not letting go of the glass he had been holding since she had arrived.

"Thanks." She brightly smiled at him, striding across the bar, almost stopping when she came a cross a Brachen demon that was so scared he was trembling, even shaking his stool. "Relax, buddy. I'm not here to hurt any of you. I know Brachen demons are peaceful. Breath."

When she reached the back room, she found something she truly hadn't been expecting. A card game where the currency were _kittens_. Spike didn't even realize she was there at first. Some of the demons around the table froze when they saw her, but she only smiled and waited next to the door, letting them go back to their game. It was only then that the bleach blonde vampire looked up, smirking when he saw her. "Hello, love."

A few minutes of almost silent playing later, she heard one of the participants lean towhisper to another one of the demons, so low she only got to understand '...the mini Slayer...', but it was enough to make her pout.

"I'm taller than Buffy!" She complained, Spike sending her an amused look.

That shut them all up, soon finishing up the game with Spike having lost several _kittens_. Really, what the fuck was wrong with them? Who used kittens to make bets?

The vampire gestured with his head towards a trap door on the floor not far from them, one she was pretty sure led to the sewers. Well, it wasn't like Spike could go out any other way during that time of the day.

She followed him down the hole, landing on slightly wet floor and between her vampire's arms. But then he froze, his face coming closer, his brow crunching up.

"What is it?" She asked, already suspecting the reason for his change in demeanour.

"Cologne." He muttered, not fully snarling, not using his normal tone of voice either. "Why do you smell like a man's cologne?"

"Lindsey." She wasn't going to hide anything from him, he deserved to know. The angry wrinkles in his forehead became even more pronounced, yet he didn't say anything. "The witch." She was afraid of his reaction, of hurting him. It was the last thing she wanted. She was getting so nervous her words started coming out in a rush. "She-she hit me with a lust spell. And then I ran to the crypt but you weren't in the crypt, and Dawn and Anya tried to take me to the Magic Box so Will and Tara could fix me but they left me alone on the street for a few minutes, and I saw him, and I hadn't seen him in ten months, and I lost my mind. I'm sorry, Spike. I'm so sorry." Her breathing came out in quick huffs, her chest heaving as if she had been running for hours, her heart beating at a frantic pace.

"What did you two do?" His voice was controlled, yet there was an underlying fury and hurt that shook her to the bone.

"We only kissed. Dawn and Anya caught us and they told him what had happened and he just helped them get me to the Magic Box and back to normal. That's all." She promised, trying to find his hands in the dark and failing miserably. "Spike?"

There was no answer for a few seconds, the nerves eating her from the inside, an unknown fear surrounding her heart like a frozen cloak. "Anything going on between you two before?" He finally asked, Ally letting the breath she didn't know she had been holding out.

"No. I mean, we kissed once, but... Nothing really happened. We were friends." She finally caught one of his hands, wrapping hers around it, noticing how he didn't even try to hold it. "I-I know it's... bad, but... I promise it meant nothing. But if you... if you want me to... Do... do you want me to leave?" She tried to keep her voice from trembling, and only managed to do it half the time, her emotions taking over the rest.

"Yeah. Got a lot to think about right now." He replied dryly, pulling his hand away from hers and turning so his back faced her. "You better go home. Sewers are not the best place for the Slayer."


	11. Chapter 11

The way home was a ridiculously weepy one for Ally. She'd never been one to cry for boys, she had barely cried when she broke up with her last boyfriend. It was disgraceful and she wanted nothing more than to slap herself and get back the usual control she had over her emotions. She _wasn't_ going to cry. God, she couldn't be blamed for what had happened, and Spike needed time to think. That was all. They hadn't broken up. Everything would be fine.

* * *

 

The last day had been a challenge for everyone. Ally was lucky she had Dawn, and even Buffy to some degree, while the rest of the Gang was still coming to terms with 'Buffy was in Heaven'. Giles was extremely supportive, spending hours at the Magic Box training both Slayers, giving them a way to let some steam off, even when it was clear it was a bit too much exertion for him.

After a long morning running around and generally trying to keep her mind off the most important matters, Ally went out to meet Lindsey at a coffee shop, knowing it was his last day in town. He was going somewhere to the east, where, she wasn't sure.

He stayed over at her place that night, kinda like a replay of her last night in L.A., even though she didn't sleep. She had tried the previous night, only for the nightmares to come back, not even getting four hours of rest. She was once again running on coffee.

* * *

 

After saying goodbye to Lindsey, she went back to the Summer's home, only to find her baby sister and Tara leaving for the Magic Box, where a Scooby meeting had been called. She wondered aloud about the kind of creature that was currently threatening town, Dawn supplying her own odd theories.

Once they met Giles, Anya and Buffy there, Ally leaned against the counter, Dawn doing the same thing next to a bookshelf.

"So whadda we got?" The teen asked, ready to get head-first into research. She was getting more and more interested in fighting evil, specially since they'd started letting her take part in research. "What kind of oogly-boogleys? Lizardy types, or um, zombies, or, or vampires, or what?"

Ally held back a laugh, watching her sister fondly.

Giles took off his glasses and started wiping them, a bit exasperated and amused at the kid's behaviour. "There are no oogly-boogleys, Dawn."

That was when the redhead witch and Xander arrived, the first with her friend's jacket on, probably because she was wearing a short sleeved shirt under it. It was almost winter-time. Even Ally was wearing long sleeves and a jacket.

The Watcher stood from his seat on the table, putting his glasses back on a his hands on his pockets. "I'm glad you're here, um... I have something I really have to tell you all. Um ... I know it feels like we've been through this before..."

Buffy just couldn't take the preliminaries, standing up and approaching the former-librarian dryly. "Why don't you just jump to the chase? Tell them that you're..."

She was interrupted by a smoking man in a brown suit and a padded hat with earflaps entering the store, no one realizing who it was at first.

Ally didn't even dare say a word, Giles being the one to speak up first. "Spike?"

Everyone stared at him, mouths hanging open at his attire. He just stood there, in front of the door, as the smoke coming from him dissipated. "You need to give me asylum. Happens there's a bloke I'd rather not see just now." He walked farther into the store, completely ignoring Ally and jumping up to sit on the counter, not far from her.

Giles focused the meeting once again, trying not to pay too much attention to the vampire. "Well, now that we've recovered from Spike's ... sartorial humor, I'll jump to the chase. Um ... I'm headed back to England and I plan to stay ... indefinitely." He sat once again, only next to Anya, as everyone stared at him.

No one had been ready for it, definitely not Ally. He was leaving? Then? How could he? Why would he?

Xander was the first to voice his surprise. "Now? Not now, I mean, not after ... everything."

"Yes, now."

Anya completely missed the general reaction to the news, once again only focused on herself. "For real this time? 'Cause honest to Pete, a young shopkeeper's heart can only take so much ... I mean, not that I want you to go..."

Not being able to take it any longer, Buffy left her place next to the stairs, striding towards the front door. "I can't do this. I just, I don't think..."

Willow stopped her, calling for her. "Buffy, listen." The blonde Slayer turned to look at her friend. "I know this must be awful for you, and I, I'm sorry, I ... I'm so sorry for..."

The senior Slayer nodded, not even waiting for Willow to finish what she had to say. Ally knew that was going to be some kind of 'poor me' speech, and she just wasn't ready to take it, either. She had been in Hell, for god's sake! How could Buffy complain so much, when she had had what was probably the best vacation ever? She'd had a break, she'd had Heaven. Ally'd had torture, endless, agonizing. She'd only had pain in her life for so long, yet she never complained. She never said a word about it. How could Buffy behave like that?

Trying to tune her eldest sister out, Ally hopped onto the counter, a few feet away from the vampire who was just keeping out of the conversation.

"Sorry. Everybody's sorry. I know that you guys are just trying to help ... but it's just, it's too much. And, and I, I can't take it anymore." The blonde was teary by that point, giving the speech of her life. "If you guys ... if you guys understood how it felt ... how it feels. It's like I'm dying, it..."

And everything went black, all of the Scoobies falling asleep at once.

* * *

 

At first, she could only think about how comfortable and rested she was. It felt like she hadn't had such a good sleep in a long time. Then, she noticed the weight on her head, like something was on top of it. A hand.

She opened her eyes and blinked in the darkness, which was suddenly replaced by a bright light that had her squinting. Where was she? She moved her head, frowning at the brown material beneath her cheek and under her hand, following it until she found the face of a man, light blonde hair combed back, the man whose hand was in her hair.

And she screamed, sitting up in one movement, the man jolting up and falling down one side of the counter.

Counter. Why was she on a counter?

She looked around, finding the others in the room, none of them familiar. A redhead and another dark haired man were sitting on the floor, not far from her. They had just shouted at finding themselves lying on the floor, together, very much like she had.

And with their screams, another brunette young girl on the floor was woken up, her startled scream joining theirs.

There were three other girls and a man, much older than the ones nearest to her, dressed in quite formal attire and his head having been resting on one of the blonde girl's shoulder until then.

When the bleach blond man she'd been lying with stood from the floor, she jumped from the counter, backing away from them as much as she could.

"Who-Who are you people?" The young brunette asked, curling into a ball on the floor, looking around in fright.

She was scared, too. Just like her. It didn't look like she knew the others, either.

A short blonde girl that had been standing near the stairs approached the teen, crouching beside her. "Don't worry." She assured, voice calm and collected.

Yet the teen was terrified, moving away from the blonde, not even daring to raise her head. "Please don't hurt me!" She begged, hugging her knees to herself.

She didn't know what got into her, but she didn't like to see the kid afraid. She felt like she _had_ to protect her. "Oh, it's okay. I don't know anyone here either." Kneeling next to the kid, she attempted a smile, making the young brunette look up.

"Yeah, me neither." The blonde backed her up, talking softly.

"Yeah? Who are you?"

That was a good question. She racked her brain trying to find the answer, yet nothing would come to her. It was like her brain had been wiped clean.

"I, uh..." It looked like the blonde didn't have an answer either, glancing at her for a second before frowning.

Then the dark haired man scrambled to his feet, pointing at them with his finger. "Okay, who are you freaks?"

Turned out everyone was as clueless as she was, nobody remembered anything, and theories started to flow. Maybe they had a blackout from drinking too much, although she doubted the kid drank, and there was no sign of alcohol anywhere.

So the panicking began. At least, the dark haired man panicked, and the blonde next to her tried to calm him down, too. "Hey, hey, take it easy, guy. Okay, no one's hurt, right? And, and none of us look all hatchety-murdery, so ... we're probably safe. Here. Wherever here is."

The redhead turned around, assessing the room and crinkling her brow at what she saw. "Look at this stuff on these shelves. Weird jars of weird stuff. Weird books with weird covers, like _Magic for Beginners_. Oh!" Her face lit up, glancing back at them excitedly.

Another girl stood up from a chair next to the table, following the redhead's line of thinking. "This is a magic shop. A-a-a real magic shop."

It made sense, didn't it? "Well, maybe that's it. Maybe something magic happened..." She started to suggest, only to be interrupted by the old man scoffing, dismissing her theory.

"Magic! Magic's all balderdash and chicanery. I'm afraid we don't know a bloody thing. Except I seem to be British, don't I? Uh, and a man. With ... glasses." He took his glasses off, watching them with interest for a couple seconds. "Well, that narrows it down considerably."

The kid, who had stood up from the floor, looked at her and the blonde her, her voice low and still fearful. "I don't like this."

"It's okay, don't worry." The blonde assured her.

She got closer to them and took one of the teen's hands. "We'll take care of each other."

"We'll all get our memory back, and it'll all be right as rain." The old man added, putting his glasses back on.

That was when the bleach blond spoke up, staring at the old man with a mightier-than-thou expression on his face. "Oh, listen to Mary Poppins. He's got his crust all stiff and upper with that nancy-boy accent. You Englishmen are always so..." He paused, realizing something. "Bloody hell! Sodding, blimey, shagging, knickers, bollocks, oh God! I'm English!"

She giggled at his reaction, amused at his own distaste of his people. He looked up, meeting her gaze, but she averted her eyes the moment they met, a blush creeping up her cheeks at being caught.

"Welcome to the nancy tribe." The old man shot back, making the blond frown again.

"You don't suppose you and I ... we're not related, are we?" He thought, looking very put out by the idea.

"There is a ruggedly handsome resemblance." The other blonde girl intervened, the old man smiling down at her with pleasure before looking back at the bleach blond.

"And you do inspire a, um ... particular feeling of ... familiarity and ... disappointment. Older brother?" He theorized, not very happy with the idea.

The blond scoffed, utterly disgusted by the idea. "Father. Oh, god, how I must hate you."

"What did I do?" The old man asked, insulted.

"There's always something, and what's with the trollop?"

The blonde girl next to the man jumped up, scowling at the bleach blond. "Hey!"

"Her?"

"I saw you! Sleeping together."

"Resting together. Like you were with _her_." The man pointed at her in that moment, bringing her into the discussion.

The bleach blond gazed at her once again, the corner of his lips curling into a smirk, accentuating his sharp cheekbones. "At least I've got better taste in women."

That had her blushing once again, only more intensely, feeling her whole face grow hot.

"Look!" The blonde held up her hand, showing them an engagement ring, diverting the attention from the tomato in the room. "It's okay. We're engaged. It's a lovely ring."

"Oh, great, a tarty stepmom who's half old Daddy's age." The blond couldn't look less excited, sarcasm flowing from his voice. 

"Tarty?"

"Old? You little twerp, I'm young enough to still get carded."

Interrupting the father-son argument the redhead shouted out. "Carded! Driver's licenses!"

Everyone started looking inside their pockets, where she immediately found a small blue wallet and searched for something that could help her remember her name. She took a thin card with her photograph out, _Ally Finn_ written right next to it.

The dark haired man was called Alexander Harris, while the redhead's name was Willow Rosenberg. The girl that had been sitting on a chair was Tara, at it looked like Willow and her studied together.

"I don't have a wallet." The young brunette muttered sadly, making her squeeze her hand in support.

"Don't worry. Me neither. But here, look." The short blonde reached for the teen's neck, taking a necklace between her fingers, _Dawn_ written on it. "You're Dawn."

The teen smiled, her whole face lighting up. "Or, Umad."

"I like Dawn. It's a pretty name." Ally grinned and looked at the blonde, both sharing a smile.

Apparently, the old man's name was Rupert Giles, and while the blonde next to him seemed to like it, his 'son' mocked him for it. "Rupert!" He giggled, thoroughly enjoying getting on the man's nerves, Ally involuntarily joining his laughs.

"You're not too old to put across my knee, you know ... sonny. Anyway, what did I call you?"

"Um... 'Made with care for Randy.'" He looked up furiously, glaring at his 'father'. "Randy Giles? Why not just call me 'Horny Giles,' or 'Desperate for a Shag Giles'? I knew there was a reason I hated you!"

By that point, Ally was full on laughing, Dawn barely holding a smile back, which made Randy turn toward her, glowering. "Don't laugh too much, you were sleeping with 'Randy'!" He recalled, striding closer to her. "So, what's you name?"

"Ally Finn." She answered weakly, her cheeks turning red once again.

"Huh. That your sister?" He looked over at Dawn, glancing between them. "Kinda see a resemblance."

"Maybe?" Ally locked gazes with Dawn, the teen's hand squeezing her while the others talked in the background. "Maybe we're sisters? That'd be nice."

Dawn, in turn, glanced at the short blonde girl, still nameless. "So you don't have a name?"

"Of course I do. I just don't happen to know it."

Dawn smiled, as did Ally, the same idea getting to them. "You want me to name you?" "Can I name you?" They both asked at the same time.

"Oh, that's sweet, but I think I can name myself. I'll name me ... Joan." Both brunettes grimaced, scoffing at the choice of name. "What? Did you just 'ugh' my name?"

Dawn back-pedalled, trying to fix their mistake. "No! I just ... I mean, it's so blah. Joan?"

'Joan' shrugged, ignoring them both. "I like it. I feel like a Joan."

The teen chuckled, shaking her head. "Fine, that's your purgative."

Joan corrected her immediately. "Prerogative."

Dawn scoffed, barely holding back from rolling her eyes. "Whatever, Joan."

"Whatever, Umad." Joan copied, only for both of them to start complaining at the same time. "Boy, you're a pain in the..."

"Boy, you're bossy!"

Ally's eyes widened at the slightly familiar scene, glancing between both girls. "Do you think we're..."

"Sisters?" Joan finished for her, all three of them smiling excitedly and jumping into each other's arms, hugging their sisters happily.

They decided to head to the hospital, have their collective amnesia looked at and maybe find some answers as to what had happened to them, but when Joan opened the front door, they came face to face with two 'men' with weird faces standing there, snarling at them.

They closed the door, running away from it and crouching behind the window, some suggesting they were vampires, some saying it might be Halloween.

Ally was sure the men outside were not playing around. Gut feeling.

Willow and Alexander left to make sure there were no other ways for the vampires to come in, the rest off the group staying together, one of the vampires shouting from the outside. "Send out Spike!"

Rupert frowned, confused by the petition. "They seem to want spikes."

Randy stood up and moved further inside, soon coming back with a handful of stakes in his arms. "Let's give 'em these."

Ally picked up one of the stakes, holding it in her hand, a sense of safety flooding her. It felt natural, clutching the stake, and it kinda crept her out.

"But wait, what are they going to do with them?" Dawn wondered, looking to both her sisters, holding the stakes in the same way.

The another shout came from the outside. "Slayer, come out and play!"

"'Slay her,' that's just what they said before. Th-th-they're gonna use the spikes to..." Tara muttered, terrified, not even able to finish the sentence.

"To slay someone? A female someone! Who do those jerks think they are?" Joan whisper-shouted, thoroughly pissed off.

"You think it might be one of us?" Ally's voice trembled, dropping the stake as if it burnt her. What would happen to them? What would happen to her sisters?

Her eyes shot up when she felt Randy's hand on her back, rubbing slowly to calm her down, his blue eyes focused on her. She was almost immediately soothed, giving him a light smile in thanks.

"You guys!" Willow called, Alexander and her returning from their little expedition.

"Trap door in the basement, it seems to lead to the sewer."

"Let's go!"

Just as they moved towards the basement, one of the windows was smashed, a vampire jumping through it, making the group turn back, screaming hysterically. Joan threw an arm around Dawn to protect her, as Randy wrapped one of his over Ally's shoulders, holding her to his side just in case.

Another vampire broke through the door, striding inside the shop in a neat looking suit, Alexander dropping to his knees before him, praying. He went straight past Alexander and to Randy, tearing Ally from his side and grabbing him from his shoulders before slamming the bleach blond against a bookcase. The other vampire grabbed Ally, who started tossing around, trying to get free and help Randy.

"You owe us!" The vampire in front of Randy claimed, the bleach blond not hesitating for a second before throwing his stakes to the floor.

"Fine! Take your damn spikes!"

It didn't seem to be enough, as the vampire stopped him from leaving, pushing him back once again. "Don't be stupid."

"Get your hands off me, you son of a..." Ally struggled with the one holding her, terrified for Randy should the vampires not get what they wanted. "Get off me!" She shrieked.

Randy's eyes shot toward her, narrowing at the creature trapping her and about to cover her mouth with his hand, fury swimming through his veins at the sight. "Let her go!" He roared, punching the one beside him in the jaw and sending him flying backwards. He ran towards the other one, tearing Ally from his grasp and hitting him with a roundhouse kick that knocked him down in a second, the rest of the group, even Ally, watching in amazement.

Both vampires backed away as soon as they could stand, running out the door and threatening them on the way. "The boss ain't gonna like this! We'll be back. And we won't be alone!" They promised, Randy shutting the door as soon as they were out, even dropping the metal security grate over the broken window.

He turned back toward them just as Alexander fainted, Dawn exclaimed 'Wow!' and Ally ran to him, throwing her arms around him to hug him tightly. "Thank you!" She screamed, although it was muffled by his shoulder, where she pressed her forehead.

He returned the hug, rubbing her back once again, careful not to look at the group staring at them to avoid ruining the moment. 

* * *

 

A short while later, Joan and Ally peered out of the window, keeping watch of the group outside the shop, still shocked at the shark-headed thing that seemed to lead the vampires. Randy stepped behind Ally, placing a hand on her shoulder as he himself looked outside, the proximity sending shivers down the girl's spine.

"Okay. I've got a plan." Ally announced, walking further inside the shop until she reached her teen sister. "They seem to want Randy, but no one else. We have to get to the hospital, at least as many of us as possible, so I say you guys go to the sewers and find a way to the hospital."

"'You guys'?" Dawn repeated, her eyes filled with concern.

"Yes. Someone has to stay with Randy to make sure they don't get him. I will. We'll run out of here and try to lose them. We've got the element of surprise. They won't expect us to just go out."

"That's your plan?" Randy asked, approaching her once again, not completely sure of it.

"Yes."

"Right."

Anya, though, wasn't convinced. "I'm not leaving the shop. I have to protect the cash register, and ... do some spells."

"Oh. Well, magic might help, yes, it's worth a shot." Her 'fiancé' agreed, right behind her.

"All right. You work on that then. We need to go, draw them away. Ready, Randy?" Ally glanced up at the bleach blond, trying to look confident of her own plan.

"Ready, Ally." He nodded, already following her to the door.

But Rupert seemed to have something else to say. "Um, son. Come here. Um, please." He awkwardly asked, only to give his son an equally awkward hug, brief and quite uncomfortable looking.

Ally couldn't help but laugh at it, yet when she found Dawn and Joan's eyes on her, the smile slipped off her face. "You be careful, alright? I'll see you soon." She promised, bringing them both into a tight embrace for a couple seconds, before letting go.

As most of the group went down to the basement, Randy opened the front door, clutching to Ally's hand and making a run for it. He pushed as many vampires out of the way as he could, sprinting past the gang as fast as humanly possible in that blasted suit.

He was glad to find out Ally could keep up a fast pace, sometimes even being the one to pull him away from the shop, not needing to look back to know they were being followed. They jogged for several minutes, eventually losing the creatures following them as they got into a narrow alley.

"Are... the-they gone?" She panted, turning around to see if they were safe or not.

"Looks like." Randy replied, still holding onto her hand as his eyes scanned the alley. "Here. Come."

He moved rapidly toward an old rusty door, kicking it open with minimal effort and popping his head inside to make sure it was empty before dragging her in behind him, carefully closing the door just in case the vampires found it.

It was a dark musty room, probably a small hall of sorts, the only chair occupying the room covered in dust and cobwebs. They walked farther into the building, coming into a living room with a dirty mattress, a broken couch and an old looking wooden box. The tiny windows at the top of the walls barely let any light in, but it was night time, darkness was to be expected. She didn't feel completely uncomfortable in the dark, either.

Still, Randy opened the box and picked a match box and a couple candles from it, passing them to her so she lit them up while he rummaged through the rest of its contents.

She walked around the room, placing the candles on the floor between the mattress and the couch, dim light flooding the place. When she turned back toward Randy, she found him pulling a quite decent bedsheet from the bottom of the box, standing up and spreading it over the mattress.

"Rest." He gestured towards the 'bed' stepping back from it, giving it up to her.

She sat on the slightly screechy bed, knowing it was better than the floor, and brought her knees to her chest, watching Randy look toward the couch in resignation.

"You too." She invited him, tapping the vast space next to her. "There's room for both of us. Come on, it's not like we haven't slept together before." She joked, smirking, Randy mimicking her expression.

"You think we... maybe... we're together? Like daddy and my tardy step-mom?" He plopped down beside her, knees bent, forearms resting over them.

"I don't know. Maybe. We'll have to wait until we get our memories back." She shrugged, her cheek coming to rest on her knees. "I think we're at least friends. I think we all are, all of the ones at the shop. It's like... a hunch."

"Could be. I mean, friends and family. My father, step-mom, your sisters, and the others... maybe friends." He lied down, hands coming behind his head, something popping out of his jacket with the movement.

Both their eyes followed the round object as it rolled over the mattress, reaching the edge and falling to the floor with a light metallic 'clink'. They leaned forward to watch what it was, their mouths hanging open at the sight of it.

An engagement ring. 

* * *

 

The air seemed to have been sucked out of the room, not a sound breaking the silence. Even the flames of the candles made more noise than the occupants of the room, still as statues, holding their breaths. They didn't dare lift their eyes and look at the other, suddenly losing their voice, not sure what they could say in that situation.

They didn't remember each other, yet they had woken up together, and there was an obvious chemistry going on between them. But, that...? That was too much for two amnesic runaways.

Ally was the first to snap out of it, scooting back into the mattress and averting her eyes so that Randy could put the ring back in his pocket, hugging her legs tighter to her chest. Her stomach started twisting uncomfortably, a warm sensation following her spine and spreading to her cheeks and ears. Could it be? Could he be her future husband? Could he be the one she was supposed to marry had they not lost their memories?

He cleared his throat and quickly picked up the ring, stuffing it back in his pocket and shifting so there was more space between them, so she didn't feel as uncomfortable. How could he not have noticed the ring when he had been searching for a ID card? How did he miss that? He glanced at her from the corner of his eye, watching her partially turn into a ball, her big grey eyes looking anywhere but in his direction. They must have been quite in love. He was going to propose, apparently, and it didn't seem like such a crazy idea to him, to be honest.

"Do you think they're still looking for you?" She asked, her voice too loud in the deafening silence even as she kept it low, her head still slightly turned.

"Possibly. We should wait a bit longer and run to the hospital." He suggested, tapping his fingers on his bent knees, not really knowing what to do.

"Yeah. The others may already be there. They could be worried." At the sad turn her voice took, Randy approached her once again, patting her shoulder lightly.

"Hey, they'll be fine. Seems I've got superhuman strength and fighting skills, sure they know we'll be somewhat safe." His hand rested on her shoulder, eventually only his thumb moving, tracing soothing circles through her clothes.

She finally looked at him, giving him a light smile that barely reached her eyes. Still, he couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity at the situation, together, alone, trying to protect her as she tried to protect him. Had it been like that before they lost their memories?

"You know, this feels... familiar. I can't remember, but I could swear we've been in a situation just like this before." She confessed, staring at the candle near them, the flames flickering in the lightest breeze.

"I know." He nodded, unconsciously tapping the ring in his pocket with his free hand.

"But I don't think the ring is for me." She added, letting out a sigh as she felt him tense up, thinking she had read his thoughts. "I... I'm not wearing any jewels, not even necklaces, earrings, or any piercing, nor do I have holes for them. I don't think I like jewels, either. It must be for someone else."

He disagreed, but didn't voice it, taking his hand off her shoulder and placing it behind him, slightly lying back. Then, he noticed how she leaned slightly closer, and he was quite sure she wasn't doing it on purpose. Her arms hugged her legs closer to her, tightening her hold on them, and he realized she was cold.

Weird, he didn't really feel much in terms of temperature. Sure, she felt warm whenever he was close to her, but the temperature of the room didn't really bother him. Maybe she was just sensitive to the cold?

He shrugged his jacket off and, wordlessly, put it over her shoulders, lightly wrapping it around her. It felt natural, one more thing to add to the list of why he thought she was the recipient of the ring, but he didn't comment on it.

"Aren't you gonna get cold?" She asked, watching him with concerned eyes that shone in the light of the candle, putting him under he spell.

"Don't feel cold." He shrugged, averting his eyes while he could, before he crept her out.

"Alright, thanks." She clutched onto the jacket and silence fell between them again.

That is, until someone barged inside the building and tumbled into the living room, a man in ragged clothes with a bottle of dark liquor clutched in his hand, who stopped short of entering the room, glaring at them. "Out! Out of my house!" He strode forward, making Randy grab Ally's wrist and pull them both up, leaving the mattress and keeping a distance from the bum that seemed to be out of his mind. "Out of here, this place is mine! Find your own!" The bum them threw his bottle at them, surprisingly hitting Randy in his jaw, the bleach blond's head whipping to one side as the projectile shattered next to his feet.

"Randy!" Ally's eyes widened, afraid the hit might have really hurt her friend, right before his head whipped back towards the vagabond, snarling, vampire face on.

Ally tried to get away from him and stifle a cry, terrified, just as the homeless man fled the building, screaming bloody murder. However, Randy barely watched the man go before he turned toward the suddenly hysterical woman, still holding her wrist even as she trashed against his grasp. "Bloody hell, woman, what's gotten into you?" He inquired, caught off guard by her horrified reaction.

"You're a vampire!" She shrieked, finally getting free from his hold and stepping backwards, her eyes not steering from him, just in case.

He just stood there for a second, seriously considering if she had gone completely bat-shit crazy. But, apart from the scared-out-of-her-mind look, she didn't seem crazy. "How can you say... I, me, a vampire? No."

"Yes, you, a vampire. Check your face, and the fangs!" She pointed at his face, more specifically at his forehead, still slowly backing away from him until her heel met the wall, not five feet from the mattress.

He obeyed, first just lightly touching his eyebrows, feeling the lumps in them, then rushing to check for fangs. And she was right. They were there. "I bite your kind." He murmured, letting his hands fall from his face, intently watching her, still covered by his jacket, the ring still in its pocket. "So how come I don't wanna bite you?" He wondered out loud, her face mirroring his own confused frown. "And why am I fightin' other vampires?"

At his completely lost expression, she felt the tug of sympathy and compassion in her heart. He really didn't know. He hadn't even tried to bite her when he had had a thousand chances to do so. Moreover, he was protecting her. He had protected her from other vampires.

Maybe he was an exception.

He still continued speaking aloud to himself, his face lighting up a bit as he theorized about his own situation. "I must be a noble vampire. A good guy. In love with a human. On a mission of redemption. I help the hopeless. I'm a vampire with a soul." He chuckled at his own idea, slowly approaching the woman who was supposed to be his beloved.

"That's lame." She shook her head, slightly less afraid of him already.

"No, really, think about it." He closed in on her, taking her chin between his fingers before she could even react, staring right into her eyes. "A vampire meeting a girl, falling in love, and changing his ways in order to be deserving of her. Turning against his own kind, fighting evil, to earn his loved one's affections." She was enthralled, his words reaching her with a pleasant purring sound, before his voice dropped a bit more, getting even deeper, more meaningful. "To be worthy of asking for her hand."

She was left breathless, her eyes lost in his, her lips parted invitingly. How could he have taken her from fear to fascination in less than a minute? Jeez, that was art. His voice shook her to the core, tugging at things that were most definitely not appropriate, making her _want_ to give in to him. Everything. It was his. She was his.

Maybe they were together.

She wasn't sure if it was him or her who leaned forward first, closing what space was left between their lips, but as soon as they touched, they were both lost in the feeling. Their mouths moved against each other, their hands acting on their own accord, grasping and tugging, anything to touch and get even closer together, their bodies adapting to each other as her back hit the wall. She moaned, receiving a growl in response, his game face still on as they kissed ferociously. She felt his fangs on her lower lip, scratching yet never breaking the skin, and let her hands lightly touch the bumps in his forehead.

He pulled back them, watching her as she grazed his face, amazed at her own attitude towards his true nature. Maybe that was it, the reason they were together, the reason why he wanted to marry her. Because she did not fear him, she did not reject his true self. She brought out the best in him.

She slowly brushed her lips against his again, sweetly, barely even touching, as one of her arms went around his neck, her fingers lightly scratching  the hairs at the back, making a shiver go down his spine. His hands slid down her sides, coming to rest to her thighs before swiftly lifting her up, getting her off the wall in one single movement.

He lowered both of them to the mattress, softly lying her down and standing only a few inches above her, staring at her. Her hair was sprawled around her, her half-lidded eyes looking up at him, light freckles spread around the bridge of her nose and rosy lips swollen from their kisses. God, she was beautiful. Utterly enchanting, and all his.

Because he knew. Somehow, she was his, just as he was hers. They belonged together.

She pulled him to her once again, tongues entwining, battling in the most passionate of wars. Their own lives depended on it, their needs driving them, not logical thought in the room. They were meant to be, they knew it, and that was enough.

A gasp fell from both their lips as they felt the spell being broken, their memories rushing back in a blur of images, sounds and feelings. Spike leaned back once more, all of the things he had been feeling, thinking, before the magic-induced amnesia returning at once. Her confession, the feeling of betrayal and familiarity with being cheated on, the reasoning behind all of it. He had been split between believing she had cheated on him and knowing she wasn't to blame for. Yet his heart ached like it had been shattered into a million pieces.

But then, seeing her laying under him, staring at him with her big doe eyes, already filled with tears, he knew she was the only glue that could make him whole once again. She was his curse and his blessing, his only salvation. Even if he was hurt, he needed her.

So he dipped his head once again, claiming her lips, her tongue and everything that was her as his own. He would erase any trace of the other one's scent from her and replace it with his own. Everyone should know, she was his, and his alone.


	12. Chapter 12

Ally blinked as she woke, the room barely lit still. Yet the tiny windows did offer some kind of light, much better than the candles had last night. Those were already consumed, wax having dripped down to the floor and solidified, hinting her as to how long she had slept.

She shifted in place, pushing herself upright with her forearm, the weight of her love's arm around her waist weakly holding her down. He was still asleep, his legs intertwined with hers, playing big spoon as he usually did at the crypt.

But they weren't at the crypt. Where were...?

Memories from the previous day came rushing in, making her bolt from the mattress and start picking up her clothes, not even careful about waking the vampire up.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit." She kept muttering as she dressed up in record time, running around the mattress under her lover's sleepy gaze, trying to get her socks from the couch or her t-shirt from the top of the box.

"Where're you going?" He growled, not appreciating her rush to leave his side.

"I have to check on Dawn and Buffy. We left and never went back, I don't even know if they got to the hospital!" She snapped, hopping in one leg to put her last boot back on, striding toward the entrance as the vampire scrambled to his feet.

"So what? You're just gonna leave? I'm stuck here! Sun's up." He pointed toward the windows, face set on a scowl.

"You'll survive. Just... sleep or something. I have to go make sure they're Ok." She turned her back on him and ran out of the building, leaving the fuming vampire behind.

Even though he knew her sisters were the most important people for Ally, he did not like being used and thrown aside, left alone where he couldn't do a single thing until the sun set again. Or had he used her? He had wanted to claim her as his, more than anything. He hadn't been driven by passion, it had been a territorial desire that he couldn't shake off since her confession. He wanted her to know that she could only be his. He needed to make her only want him.

Yet she didn't even hesitate in running out to find her family, once again reminding him that, no matter how much he tried, he could never have her only to himself. She had family, friends and a past he barely knew about; she would never be only his.

* * *

 By the time she got to the Summers home, Giles had left the country, Tara had broken up with Willow and her sisters were in a pitiful mood, which she soon joined. How could things have turned out so wrong? Their family was breaking apart, and she couldn't do a thing to keep it from getting worse. Even she and Buffy walked a fine line, only held together by Dawn and a deeper sense of belonging than any fight or dissidence could take from them. They were sisters, family, want it or not. Moreover, they were Slayers, they had to work together, overcome any obstacles they could face in their relationship, in light of their duty to the world.

So, Buffy was in Heaven, and Ally was in Hell. Maybe it was just how it was meant to happen. Maybe she deserved it.

That was what made her so annoyed about Buffy's complaints about Heaven. She knew, she knew Buffy deserved Heaven, deserved some peace and a good place to rest in. Ally didn't. How could she, after what she'd done? Family was the most important, and she had abandoned hers.

She was already being rewarded with a new family she loved, she could not ask for more. She certainly couldn't ask for Heaven.

* * *

 As days passed by with no change, other than Amy, the rat, being turned back into her human form and making Willow use even more magic for no other means but fun. This certainly didn't sit well with Tara, who had been over at the time, or any other of the girls for that matter. They knew Willow was overdoing it, but she wouldn't listen to any of them. Ally knew the witch wouldn't stop until something bad, really bad, happened because of her lack of control.

Dawn and Ally were working on the teen's homework, yet the youngest sister knew the Slayer's mind was elsewhere. She had noticed the vampire no longer watched the house at night, 'hiding' behind the tree just outside her window, nor had Ally mentioned him in a while. Something had happened the night they had all gone amnesic, but she hadn't asked her sister yet. She looked so sad and lost in thought most the time, she wasn't sure if mentioning it wouldn't make it worse. However, she was worried. What if she could help?

"Alls?" Dawn had stopped working on her physics problems a couple minutes earlier to watch her sister, yet Ally still hadn't noticed, her eyes unseeing, fixed on a pen laying on the table. At hearing her name, Ally's eyes shot up, meeting Dawn's and blinking a couple times to clear her thoughts. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Are you done?"

"No, not yet. I'm... just worried. Is something wrong between you and Spike? I haven't seen him around in a few days."

"Uh..." She averted her eyes, her face falling and jaw clenching before she looked back at the teen. "I... I think... I'm not sure. We haven't been... well since the lust spell."

Dawn gasped, shocked at the vampire's attitude. "He can't blame you for that!"

"It's... it's more complicated than that. It's more than blame. Drusilla cheated on him repeatedly. It must be harder for him than most people, after finally letting go of his love for over a hundred years, getting into another relationship only to be cheated on once more. He must feel like it's just happening again." She understood. She had never experienced something like that, not really, but she knew that it hurt Spike more than the average person. He was so passionate, so devoted to the one he loved, she knew she had hurt him more than a beating from the Slayer could. She felt horrible for it, even if she had had no way of stopping it.

"But you were bewitched! You did not purposefully cheat on him, and Lindsey and you just kissed." Dawn clutched one of her hands, squeezing in support.

"Dawn, we both know that if Anya and you hadn't stopped us, it would have gone much farther than kissing." Maybe that was what kept her from running to Spike and asking for forgiveness, from devoting herself to him as he had done to her. She knew that she had felt something towards Lindsey, even if it was just lust and a bit of affection, and it made the cheating worse. Because even then, as she thought back on the make out session, she felt _good_. She had enjoyed it. How could she ask Spike to forgive her when the memories were so _nice_? Of course, it didn't mean she wanted anything more with Lindsey, but she knew that there was a part of her that didn't regret it.

Heck, if there was one thing she had gotten from that last night in L.A. was that Lindsey could kiss. Yet she didn't think she could ever love him. Not like she loved Spike.

She didn't think she could love anyone the way she loved Spike.

Her vampire.

"But you didn't, and he can't blame you for it. It was a spell." The teen repeated, sternly looking into her sister's eyes. "Want me to go see him and knock some sense into him?"

Her lips twitched into a tiny smile, her sweet sister's face relaxing at her reaction. Dawn was worried. Maybe she should go talk to the bleach blond. Try to fix things. She had to fight for what they had.

"I'm gonna go see him. Are you gonna be okay?" Ally stood up, stretching her arms after being in the same position for the past hour.

"Yeah, I'll make myself something to eat soon. I'm thinking about peanut butter and banana quesadillas, it's my own invention." Dawn smiled brightly, hopping up from her chair.

"Sounds disgusting. Enjoy yourself." Ally hugged her tightly for a couple seconds and kissed her temple. "If anything happens, you know where I'll be."

The eldest brunette grabbed her jacket and left the house quickly, thinking about what she was going to say to the bleach blond once she found him, barely paying attention to her surroundings as she planned her words. She had to make things right. She missed him.

 

 

* * *

A thousand words mingled in her mind, a thousand sentences, endless possibilities. Some of them good, some of them bad. As the ways their conversation could go crossed her mind, she felt her blood freeze in her veins. Every single unsuccessful ending attacked her at once, drowning her in misery, in images of the future without him. Alone, depressed, and broken. The dozens of possible miserable outcomes unravelled in front of her eyes, scenes where he left, he chose another one over her, where he despised her.

Her eyes watered and she bit her lower lip to keep it from trembling. She was nearing the crypt already, every step making dread expand further in her chest.

Visions of Spike with _Drusilla_ once again made her hands turn into fists. She was going to hurt him again, she knew, how could he not realize that? She was never going to love him as he deserved, she would never have him as her one and only.

And yet, had she not hurt him too?

She opened the door to the crypt without knocking, making the vampire jump up from his seat on the couch, watching TV, and turn around to face her. He frowned when he saw her standing at the entrance. She soon shut the door and strode forward, the bleach blond's face scrunching even more in confusion. "Ally? What's going...?"

His question was cut off by the brunette launching herself at him, hugging him tightly and burying her face on his shoulder, trembling as she could barely contain the sobs. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry... Please, please, do-don't leave." She begged, clutching at his t-shirt and fisting the material in her hands. "I ne-never wanted to hurt you... Please..." Her fears grew when she did not feel him hug her back. Oh, no, it was over. He did not want her anymore, he would not forgive her. "I'm sorry... Please... I miss you..." Her voice trembled even more, broken sobs cutting her sentences until she could not say more than a couple words together.

Then, he grabbed her shoulders and tore her from him, his face a mix of bewilderment and concern as he looked intently at her. "What the bloody hell are you going on about?"

"I hurt you." Her voice turned into little more than a whisper. "I never want to hurt you. I don't want to be like _her_." She finished with a hiss, her jaw clenching, teeth greeting as a wave of hatred flew through her. _She_ had hurt him, over and over.

" _Her?_ " He tilted his head, not sure who she was referring to. He was caught off guard with her entrance, her tears and her pleas. He didn't understand what was going on. They hadn't seen each other in days, he had been wallowing in his own self pity. Bloody awful Big Bad he was, weeping after a Slayer. Yet he knew she was different, she was the one he needed. Too bad his pride was too big to allow him to go back to her once again. He had started to think about his isolation as a punishment for his idiocy. How could he have ever expected to be as important for her as she was for him?

Maybe he had been wrong, judging from her current state.

" _Drusilla_." She spat, like venom that needed to be taken out of her system. "I won't be like her. I won't." She promised, a fiery determination replacing the tears and vulnerability in her eyes. That was more like the Ally he knew.

He knew what she was talking about, somehow. Still, he straightened in surprise, his eyebrows shooting up to his hairline. Of course she wasn't like Drusilla. It was obvious. How could she even think he would compare them? Yet, he had, hadn't he? He had thought of the times he had caught Dru with another one, thinking it would happen again with Ally.

In fact, he knew she was nothing like his ex. He knew she would not do that to him. It was hard and it hurt, knowing there had been someone else, but, really, the situation couldn't be more different. It had been a lust spell, not much she could control there. Moreover, she had told him, she had come to see him first, had ran all the way to the crypt only to find it empty while under the spell.

"I know." He finally replied, letting go of her shoulders and sitting back down on the couch. "Wasn't your fault, love." He let her know, voice downcast and his posture hunched over.

 _Love_. He'd said it again. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest.

"But..." She started again, noticing things were not right yet.

He cut her off before she could say anything else. "It hurt, yeah, but it's not your fault. That bloody witch, that's who's to blame. It just... you know, reminded me of all those times. But you're not like her. I know that. You're way better. Hell, you're the bloody Slayer and you haven't tried to kill me yet, not once." He smirked, if only lightly, leaning against on the couch, his arm draped over the back, inviting her to join him. "Just needed time, love. 'Tis alright."

He wasn't going to leave. He didn't despise her. He was _forgiving_ her.

Heck, when she thought she couldn't love him more, he did that. Damn him.

Instead of sitting next to him, she threw herself over him, knocking him on the couch until he was lying back, straddled by the brunette as she passionately attacked his mouth. As shocked as he was, he soon recovered, growling deep in his throat as he held her to him, flipping them over, not really thinking it through. They fell off the couch, both gasping as they hit the floor, yet resuming their kiss a couple seconds later. Somehow, while Ally tugged at his t-shirt, the vampire picked her up, stumbling all the way downstairs, barely reaching the bed before she yanked on his belt. She wanted it all _off_.

* * *

 "Alls!" A scream woke her up, sitting up in one movement as her hand reached for something to defend herself with from the attacker, only to find Buffy a few feet from the bed, a candle in hand, ready to throw it at her.

"Buff? What the...?" She suddenly remembered she was naked, yanking the bedsheet higher to cover her as much as possible, Spike not even stirring next to her.

"God, do you two sleep through anything? I was like yelling, and nothing." She huffed, glaring at the vampire still asleep.

"I haven't slept well since the memory spell, Buff. And we were tired..." Ally blushed, tightening her hold on the sheet. "What are you doing here?"

Buffy's lips turned into a fine line, her eyes narrowing right before she threw the candle at Spike, startling him. "About time." She snapped while the vampire looked around, huffing when he saw the other Slayer looking at them. "You sleep like the dead. Then, again, you are..."

"I'm a bit knackered. Had a long night." He smirked at the girl next to him, taking in her naked form under the sheet.

The blonde rolled her eyes, picking up some clothes before throwing them at the couple. "Get dressed. Dawn's missing."

Those two words were enough to send Ally into overdrive, wondering what it was about her sister that made her go missing _so_ often. The young Slayer hadn't even been with them for a year, as she already felt like she was going to die young, if not slaying, by getting a heart attack worrying over her baby sister. 

* * *

 

"Again?" The vampire voiced, shooting a dry glare at the blonde Slayer as Ally smacked his thigh under the sheets, trying to put her underwear on as quickly as possible. "Ever think about a Lojack for the girl?" That earned him a deathly look from both girls, making him roll his eyes. "What's the story?"

"She went out with Willow."

Ally froze in place, arching an eyebrow and tilting her head, not sure where the problem was. So? Dawn was with Willow, that wasn't really a reason to get worried. "Willow? Buff, just because they went out doesn't mean..."

However, Buffy cut her, obviously worried. "Willow's into something. Okay, her and Dawn have been missing for hours. The-there's some guy named Rack."

Spike seemed to recognize the name, as he stilled in his efforts to pull his pants on without flashing the blonde. "Rack?" He frowned, catching his lover's attention as she pulled a t-shirt over her head.

"Yeah, he's, uh, some sort of..." The blonde went on to explain, only to be interrupted by the vampire.

"I know who he is, he deals in magic. Black stuff, dangerous." He looked over towards the brunette to make sure she didn't completely freak out, being as overprotective of her sister as she was.

Buffy only added to her fears. "I've been all over downtown and I can't find his place."

He shook his head lightly, knowing she wasn't going to be able to find it alone. So the Little Bit was in danger, again. He would have to go help them once more. "Because he cloaks it. You can't feel it unless you're into the big bad - a witch or a vampire or..."

"So let's go!"

* * *

 The tension was obvious as the trio walked around town, waiting for the vampire to catch a sign or feeling or whatever they got when they were near Rack's place. The blonde Slayer hadn't really commented on finding them both naked in bed, she knew they'd done it before, but seeing them like that was a whole other thing. She didn't like seeing her sister with a vampire, _that_ vampire, yet she couldn't deny he was not the same he once had been.

Definitely not comfortable with her baby sister banging a vampire.

After the thousandth time Buffy asked Spike if he felt anything yet, the vampire started to growl lowly, warning her to stop bothering him. Ally shot her a dry look, siding with him as her constant questioning was getting on the brunette's every last nerve too.

"Really? Aren't you worried about Dawn?" The blonde snarled, glowering at the youngest Slayer.

"Of course I'm worried about her. And Spike is too. He'll tell us when he feels something, so stop it."

"Yeah, sure he's worried." Buffy rolled her eyes, turning away from them once again.

"He was there for her when we weren't, Buffy. You seem to forget that quite often." Ally hissed, halting in the middle of the street, her vampire standing right beside her as his eyes travelled from one Slayer to the other.

Buffy's head whipped around to look at them once again, eyes narrowed in anger. "We weren't there because we died for her."

"We are her sisters. But he is not, and he still risked his life to keep her safe, several times. Remember Glory?" The brunette took a couple steps closer to the blonde, straightening her spine to tower over her, even if Buffy was older. "I do. I remember how we got him back. But you are awfully willing to forget that, aren't you?" Her lips curled in anger before falling into a thin, tight line, her sister copying her, her hands turning into fists.

"Just because you are sleeping with him doesn't make him one of us." Buffy shot back, not cowering at the difference in height. "He's a vampire. He doesn't have a soul. He is a monster and will someday go back to his old ways. And I'll be there to drive my stake through..."

That was it. At the threat, Ally's nostrils flared, her muscles tensing to get ready for a fight, to defend him, her arm going back before striking the senior Slayer in the gut, making her tumble back and clutch her abdomen.

"Don't you dare finish that sentence, Buff." Ally warned, immediately feeling Spike's hand grabbing her arm to prevent her from attacking her sister anymore.

"Leave her, love. That is our usual dose of threats toward one another. Keeps the patrolling and walking around from getting boring." He tried to calm her down.

Still, Buffy's eyes held a fire that had not been there before. Glaring at her sister, the senior Slayer straightened herself once more, squaring her shoulders while clenching her jaw. "So this is what it has come down to. You're siding with him before your own family."

Ally bristled, holding her sister's gaze with the same fire, the same strength. There was no doubt both of them were true Slayers, Chosen Ones, powerful and deserving of the fear they caused among demons and any kind of monster. "He _is_ my family too. Just because you're are a straight up bitch with anyone that..."

A quick punch to her jaw interrupted her, her face turning to the side as Spike growled and swung at Buffy himself, immediately throwing his hands to his head and half-screaming, only to stop as soon as he started.

Buffy's anger seemed to have been replaced with shock, her eyes no longer on the brunette, but the vampire watching his hands and frowning in bewilderment. Ally watched them both, wondering what had happened to stop the fight so suddenly. Vampire and blonde Slayer looked at each other for a moment before Buffy took a step back, eyes wide. "What did you do?" She asked, glancing quickly at Ally as Spike did the same.

"Let's try again." He suggested, throwing another punch at the Slayer's face, one she did not even try to dodge.

"What are you doing?!" Ally screamed, finally realizing that it was her sister they were hitting, knowing things had gotten out of hand.

"It's not working." Buffy muttered as she stared at the vampire, her hand cupping her jaw and keeping herself from flinching at the pain.

"What?" The brunette's gaze went from her boyfriend to her sister, confused at their current situation.

"The chip." The bleach blond briefly explained, frowning to himself.

Silence fell in the group, Buffy watching Spike, the vampire watching Ally, and Ally just trying to understand what it all meant.

His chip wasn't working. He wasn't neutered anymore. He could go back to killing people if he wanted to.

She locked gazes with the man she had fallen for, relief flooding through her when she remembered his words a couple months earlier.

"We still have to find Dawn." She refocused the little group, taking Spike's hand and resuming their walk, making sure to squeeze a bit to let him know she didn't fear him going dark side again. 

* * *

 

Buffy was seething, she obviously didn't trust Spike not to start killing humans again, but she had already angered Ally once that night, she wasn't risking a second one when the vampire could join in the fight. A highly trained Slayer and a master vampire together were too much even for her. Hell, training with Ally was challenging enough, both of them struggling to come on top each time they sparred. Buffy had more experience as a Slayer, yet Ally had been trained to win in a situation where her opponent had the advantage, where she was the _weak one_. Now that she had the power of legendary warriors, she was a machine.

It didn't take them much longer to find Dawn, either, as a scream coming from an alley where a car had been crashed into a concrete pillar, a nasty demon ready to pounce on their baby sister.

"Dawn!" Ally rushed to her aid, tackling the demon and sending it away from the teen, only having a couple minutes to fight it before it started shaking violently, screaming and bursting into a ball of fire that turned it into a pile of dust.

Not ten feet away from them, Willow stood with black eyes and red sparks crackling around her hands, yet her face was one filled with anguish and regret.

She had put Dawn in danger. She was responsible for the gash and blood on her baby sister's face, the pain and fear she had gone through that day.

Her and her magic.

"Stay away from Dawn." Ally hissed in warning before turning around and running back to where the most important people in her life stood, her vampire and eldest sister helping get Dawn to the hospital.

As they all hurried as much as possible in the teen's state, Willow ran after them, eventually Buffy turning around to face her as Spike and Ally took Dawn away from the witch and to safety.

* * *

 

Once Dawn was patched up, Buffy had dealt with Willow and they were all safe at home, Ally left her sleeping baby sister's side and walked out of the house, knowing Spike was waiting for her outside. There were still things that had to be taken care of, like his sudden ability to hurt people again.

"Take a swing." She invited him with outstretched arms as she neared him, leaning against the tree in front of the house.

"I'm not gonna hit you, love." He frowned.

"Come on, it's just one hit. We need to know if it is working or not. Don't worry." She smirked, taking hold of his hands in hers. "Sometimes I like it rough."

His lips twitched, but he still didn't move. "Don't want to hurt you." He admitted, his voice low and silky.

"You won't. Really, just get it over with." She smiled encouragingly and took a couple steps back, making room for him to move.

"Don't smile, makes it harder." He ordered as he straightened himself, Ally obeying and trading the smile for a sneer, one that had the vampire almost chuckling.

It was over in a second, a quick hit to her gut, not the most painful or well-aimed she had gotten, yet her attention wasn't on herself, but on him.

No headache. No pain. The chip wasn't working.

"Nothing." He confirmed, looking frustrated. It was weird. He should have been happy, no electric shocks restraining him, yet he could only think of what Ally would think. What if she didn't want him near anymore? He had to know what was happening to the chip, know why it wasn't working. "Stay here. Look after the Nibblet. I know where I have to go."

She took hold of his hand once again, just to prevent him from leaving so soon. He wasn't going to kill anyone, was he? "Where?"

"There's a nerd who can check it. Tell me what's wrong with it. I'll be back when he's done." His hand grabbed the back of her neck and brought her closer to him, his lips covering hers hungrily before pulling away. "Rest."

"Wake me up when you get back." She asked, her hand coming up to rest on his cheek for a couple seconds before stepping away.

* * *

 

She hadn't been able to sleep, but she was laying on her mattress, blankets covering her up to her chin, protecting her from the chilly night air. She often found herself watching Dawn's silhouette in the dark, just to make sure she was there, that she was okay.

When the door slowly opened she sat up, already awaiting her vampire, who shook his head and gestured for her to follow him out of the room. She got up and walked downstairs with him, both completely silent. She hugged herself in an attempt to stop her arms from being hit with the cold, yet only recovered some warmth when they got to the entrance and Spike placed his coat over her shoulders.

She lightly smiled in thanks, but his expression was too grave and it immediately fell, worried eyes glancing up at his baby blues. "So?" She whispered, knowing the news weren't good. What that meant for him, she had no idea.

"The chip is fine. I even kicked a jerk in a ridiculous motorbike on the way. Chip went off." He explained, his face turning more solemn with each word.

"The chip is fine." She repeated, her mind trying to understand what it meant. He had hit Buffy, and the chip hadn't done a thing. He had hit her, and there had been no headache.

"Goldilocks and you, you came back different." He voiced, making her blood run cold.

Her eyes stared at him in utter shock, her words trembling when she spoke. "We came back wrong. Not human anymore."


	13. Chapter 13

Things hadn't been easy the last week. The Summers sisters were doing all they could to clear the house of anything that could tempt Willow into using magic again, Dawn's arm was in a sling, Ally was still angry at the witch and Buffy was trying to cope with the news that they had come back 'wrong' from their afterlives. No one else knew, only Spike and the Slayers, yet they didn't know what to do with that information. Spike and Buffy had avoided seeing each other in what Ally understood was an attempt at 'peace'; they all knew that if they got in an argument now, as they tended to, nothing could stop them from killing each other. Except Ally, maybe.

Everything was a mess.

On top of all that, a social worker was going to come visit them. Buffy, to be precise, but Ally was not going to stay really far from them. Dawn was at school, Xander had volunteered to take her, and even Spike had decided to drop by to see Ally, something about taking a stroll.

His excuses were really lame, or so everyone but the brunette Slayer thought. Buffy pretended to be sick every time she saw them together, muttering about love struck fools and rainbows shooting out of a hellhound's ass.

When Buffy came into the living room with the social worker to find Spike still sitting in the armchair, Ally perched on his side, her face fell behind the middle aged woman's back. The senior Slayer didn't really need a vampire to ruin the inspection. "Uh ... now's really not a-a good time. Um, I have company." The blonde explained as she gestured for the vampire to leave.

"No worries." Spike shrugged, his thumb moving in circling motion against Ally's waist.

"Spike ... this nice woman is, uh, from Social Services?" Buffy cleared, just as the couple's faces changed in understanding.

"Oh, yeah, the visit. It's Wednesday." Ally stood up from her seat and extended her hand toward the social worker, an award winning smile on her face. "Welcome. I'm Ally, I don't know if..." The brunette glanced at her sister, Buffy immediately moving beside her to help.

"This is Ally, my sister. Well, our sister."

"I thought Dawn was your only sister." Mrs. Kroger frowned, glancing between both girls.

"Uh, it's... we're not blood related, but she's our sister nonetheless. She takes really good care of Dawn, specially when it comes to her academic life, her grades have skyrocketed with Ally." Buffy smiled gratefully at her, some of the tension that had been between them in the last week disappearing. "She takes really good care of her."

"Oh, so you are Dawn's tutor, in a way?" The woman asked, way more brightly that she should. "You don't seem much older than her."

"I'm nineteen." She corrected, grasping Buffy's hand behind them, supporting each other through the interrogation.

"And do you go to college or...?" Mrs. Kroger continued, writing down on her papers.

"No, not anymore, I finished my studies a couple years ago. I have a degree in Physics from UCLA and doctorate from Caltech." She felt Buffy's hand stiffen in surprise, and risked looking at her from the corner of her eye to find her staring, trying to keep her mouth from dropping open.

"Aren't you too young...?" The social worker asked again, disbelief colouring her voice.

"Whiz kid." The youngest Slayer shrugged, letting go of Buffy's hand to invite the woman to sit. "I assure you, Buffy is taking great care of Dawn, everyone here does."

Mrs. Kroger sat down, looking at Spike still sitting in the armchair, watching the brunette attentively. Her face turned sour at inspecting his clothing and the way he sat. "Does he live here?" She asked, bringing her eyes back toward the two sisters, standing awkwardly side by side.

The blonde girl quickly jumped to correct her, not even wanting to imagine living with _him_. "Oh, no. He came to visit. He was just leaving actually." She turned back toward the vampire and shot him a death glare, gesturing for him to leave. "It's just Ally, me and Dawn here."

"And Willow." Ally added, trying to not let the bitterness seep into her voice. "I'll go... help Spike to the door." She followed after her boyfriend, not wanting to leave Buffy alone but knowing she couldn't just kick Spike out.

She was still hearing the social worker talk to Buffy when they reached the back door. "Take care out there, you might need sunscreen." She joked, lightly kissing the vampire before throwing his blanket over him.

"You might want to go back and help the Slayer out of this situation, love. Don't want the Nibblet taken away." He suggested just as they heard Buffy say 'It's magic weed. It's not mine'. God, she really was disastrous in covering her unusual life. Couldn't she just have said it was sage?

Ally rushed back to the entrance, finding the social worker about ready to leave. "I think I've seen enough."

Her eldest sister's crestfallen face broke her heart, knowing she did not do well in this kind of situations, when she got nervous and scared. "No, a-actually, I really don't think that you have. It's just ... i-it's been kind of, kind of a, a bad time."

"It's been a bad time now for a while, hasn't it, Ms. Summers? Your sister has had frequent absences and has been reported for lateness in high school, even if she is being tutored at home." The woman shot a sharp look at Ally, watching as she took Buffy's hand in hers once again, squeezing to instil some confidence in her.

The blonde's voice was weak, though, the little trick not working in that situation. "But there-there are good reasons."

"Oh, I'm sure there are. But my interest is in Dawn's welfare. And the stability of her home life, something I'm just not convinced that an unemployed young woman like yourself can provide."

"I can. I, I do!"

"Well, we'll just have to see about that then, won't we?" Mrs. Kroger walked around them and to the door, her face determined. "Oh, and I'm, uh, going to recommend immediate probation in my report."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I'll be monitoring you very closely, Ms. Summers. And if I don't see that things are improving, well, I'll be forced to recommend that you be stripped of your sister's guardianship."

Buffy hand gripped Ally's so tightly she had to hold back a whine. "You can't do that."

Ally tried not to hiss, yet her voice still came out harsher than she wanted, way stronger than Buffy's. "I won't let you do that. My lawyer will hear about this, and I can tell you right now that you won't take her from us. Dawn is being taken good care of. Our situation might not be the best, but I can assure you there is no better place for Dawn than with her family. No one will look after her better than we do."

The social worker did not cower, holding her gaze firmly as she opened the door. "I do what is in Dawn's best interest ... as should you. Have a nice day."

Buffy let go of her hand, moving forward to close the door and lean against the frame, sighing in defeat.

"Didn't go well, huh?" Spike's voice asked from behind them. However, none of them turned or acknowledged him.

"Do you really have a lawyer that can take care of this?" Buffy whispered, barely loud enough for her to hear.

"Yeah, Lindsey. I'll go call him and ask what we can do."

As she turned to go search for the phone, she caught Spike's expression, a mix between anger and betrayal. "Lindsey?" He followed her to the kitchen, leaving Buffy behind.

She tried to keep her voice soft, not wanting to get in another argument over her long-time friend. "Yeah. He got me out of a couple situations before. I'm sure he can help me... us with this too." She explained, not meeting his eyes as she took hold of the phone.

No sooner had she started dialling his number, Spike tore the phone from her grasp. "You're not gonna call that git." He snarled, making Ally look up furiously.

"You can't tell me what I can or can't do, Spike." She reminded him, holding her hand out so he would give her the phone back.

"You are not gonna call him after what he did." He held the phone out of reach, his face nearing hers menacingly.

Her voice turned into an inhuman snarl, matching the deep grumbling coming from his throat, a sign that he was letting the monster out. "He didn't do anything. He can help us, he can help Buffy, so you're gonna give me that phone and get over your jealousy right now, or get out of here. We don't need more problems right now, we need solutions. And Lindsey has them."

With one last growl, the vampire put the phone back in her hands, only to turn, grab his blanket and rush out of the house.

* * *

 

The bus ride was shorter than she expected, even if it took at least a couple hours. Her mind had been reeling, trying to come up with a solution, clutching the bag with the papers Lindsey had asked from her. Yet her thoughts seemed to be awfully fixated on her vampire, the look on his face before he left.

She couldn't let that distract her. Keeping Dawn was her priority. Her love life came after that. Right then, she needed to get to Lindsey and hear him say everything was under control, that nobody was going to take her sister away from her.

_"Li-Lindsey?" She talked into the phone when she heard him answer with a 'McDonald here'._

_"Ally?" He immediately recognised her, his voice sounding like he had just woken up._

_"Yeah. I-I'm sorry to call you out of the sudden, but I nee-need your help."_

_"Are you alright?" He caught on to her distressed voice and she was thankful he couldn't see her pitifully leaning onto the counter for support._

_"Ye-yeah. I need legal help." She hated how her voice cracked, closing her eyes in an attempt to regain some control._

_"What's going on? What happened?"_

_"It-it's Dawn. We-we need he-help. A so-social worker came and..." Her voice was trembling, as were her hands, her breathing getting more and more irregular._

_"Alright, Alls. I need you to calm down. Sit somewhere and take a deep breath." He waited until she had done so to continue talking. "Now, explain what happened. We'll work it out."_

He had asked to meet her halfway between wherever he was staying right then and Sunnydale, resulting in a couple hours of travelling for both of them. But he was going to make it all right. He was going to help her protect her sisters. Because she knew, if someone took Dawn away, Buffy was not going to be able to take it. And neither was she.

They had to stay together.

* * *

_"Alls, you gotta get back, Buffy's invisible."_

_"Hey Ally! Only wanted you to know that I fixed the social service's issue. Mrs. Kroger is not 'fit' to assess our case."_

_"Alls, Buffy's gonna die if we don't turn her visible again!"_

To say her time with Lindsey had been chaotic and a roller coaster of emotions would be an understatement. After that first call from Xander, Lindsey and her had hopped into his truck and driven back to Sunnydale way above the speed limit. They hadn't even had time to go over all of the documents he'd asked from her. The second one had been a voicemail, one that somewhat calmed her down, although there was something weird about the way Buffy talked. The third one had gotten her heartbeat right up, pounding in her chest as her hands got sweaty with dread.

Her sister. She was going to die if they didn't fix her soon.

No. Not her sister. Why did it always have to be her sisters?

"We're almost there, Alls. Calm down, I'm sure everything's gonna be..." Lindsey started once they turned the corner of Revello Drive.

"You don't know that, Lindsey." She cut him, her eyes trying to find her home and any sign of Buffy being back to normal. "But thank you."

It was night time already, and she felt some stress leave when she saw the lights of the Summers' house were on. That meant there was people there. That meant Buffy might be there, and she might be back to normal.

When Lindsey pulled over in front of the house, he barely had time to switch the engine off before Ally shot out of her seat, sprinting to the front door and barging inside. He hurried after her, just in case things had gone wrong and she needed some moral support, only to quicken his already quick pace when she heard her scream 'Buffy!'. When he crossed the threshold and found his friend, in the living room, his worries vanished.

There she was, tightly hugging her tiny blonde sister, crushing her in a way someone that wasn't a Slayer or a demon wouldn't be able to take. "Oh, god, Buffy. You had me scared shitless."

"I can attest to that." Lindsey muttered, letting the rest of the group, the same ones he'd seen last time minus one of the witch girls and the old man, know he was there.

"I think we broke every traffic law on the way back." Ally added, sighing in relief as the other Slayer tried to breath despite how constricted her torso was.

"Were you really that worried?" Buffy asked, almost as if she couldn't believe it.

"Of course!" Ally stepped back, holding Buffy's shoulders so she could meet her gaze. "You have any idea how afraid I was we wouldn't be able to find you? That you'd die? Again?"

"Wow. You're usually only like this when Dawn's in trouble." The blonde commented, clearly surprised at Ally's concern.

"You are my sister too, Buff." Ally's voice lowered, not sure if Buffy would believe her. How had she not noticed before? Of course they were sisters. It was about the _three_ of them, not just Dawn. The teen simply needed more attention and protection. They were Slayers! They could defend themselves. Didn't mean they cared about each other any less.

It was Buffy who hugged her then, another bone crushing hug that the brunette immediately returned, the whole group watching in silence and with slight smiles painted in their faces.

"I like what you've done with your hair, Buff." She whispered, eyes closing in content.

She was a Summers girl. Legally. Dog bless Lindsey and his not-so-legal lawyer methods. He'd done it once before, when she left L.A., helped her change her last name and get new documentation. She owed him a drink next time she met him. And they had a good party to celebrate it, also with the added 'we didn't get to celebrate your nineteenth birthday because you were dead'. So there were gifts, and drinks, and no magic stuff. Lots of snacks and music and dancing with Dawnie for Ally, even dancing with Willow, anything to get her mind off the fact that Spike wasn't there.

He hadn't been around for some time. Not even when she went to see him at his crypt. It looked like he _knew_ when she'd go or had a hell of a sixth sense and hiding abilities. It hurt, more than she had expected. She hadn't expected him to take it so bad. She had just called Lindsey for help, it was not like she had arranged a snogging session and banged the daylights out of him. She couldn't understand why he took it so bad. _No one_ had seen him in the last two weeks, yet his things were still at the crypt, so he couldn't have left, could he?

Still, she tried to enjoy the party as much as possible.

With Buffy working at the Doublemeat Palace, the party had started quite late, as they wanted to wait for her to get back from work before doing anything. After all, she had the idea of throwing a party, and was going to bring greasy food for whoever wanted it.

So there they were, the three sisters dancing, Buffy precariously holding a cup with something that smelled awfully similar to the liquors Spike favoured while moving to the music.

"Oh, I can't believe you are now _legally_ our sister, Alls!" Dawn shrieked as she hugged Ally once more. She'd been doing that quite a lot since they got the papers in the mail the day before, a letter from Lindsey attached to it.

"You can call me Ally Summers." She grinned, holding the teen tightly between her arms. "Sounds good."

"It does." Buffy agreed as she took another gulp from the cup.

Soon, Dawn left the 'dance floor' (a.k.a. living room) and scurried to the kitchen, probably to get something cold from the fridge, the eldest Summers girls sitting down on the arm chairs next to Xander and Anya, who were still discussing wedding arrangements. Willow was swaying to the music in her seat on the couch as she listened to the couple and tried to keep Xander entertained through Anya's endless chatter.

"There's somebody outside waiting to see you, Alls." Dawn whispered to her when she came back, trying to hold back a smirk and gesturing with her head towards the entrance.

Ally raised her eyebrows, wondering who would have come so late, but stood and walked over to the door to see who the mysterious visitor was from the glass next to it.

Her jaw dropped and she opened the door as quickly as possible, almost breaking it in her haste to get outside, not believing her eyes. How...? Why...?

There stood Spike, bleach blond hair standing out in the dark, looking all the bit broken and like a lost puppy as he held a present between his hands. His eyes found hers, regret flooding them as she stopped right under the doorframe, watching him like a deer in headlights. She didn't come closer, and he didn't move from his spot in the walkway for some time.

Why was he there? After the last two weeks, giving no signs he was even alive, why had he come home? Why?

"Spike..." His name left her lips almost unconsciously, so soft a human wouldn't have been able to hear it. Yet he did, and she knew he did, as his face set in a determined expression and he started approaching her.

"You look beautiful, love." He commented, nodding towards the silver and black dress she had chosen for the party. Dawn had said it brought out her eyes, and added that she would sometime borrow it from her part of the closet. They basically shared most clothes by then, anyways. Same jean size, same top size, same shoe size. It was like a trip to the mall for Dawn when she'd grown the last couple inches. "Heard you had a party, new Summers girl, huh?" He stopped a couple feet in front of her, still holding the gift in his hands, like a peace offering.

"Heard from whom? I've been trying to find you. It was like you'd disappeared. Or was it only for me?" The hurt that seeped into her voice made him avert his eyes for a couple seconds.

"No. Been out of town. Came back a couple days ago. The Nibblet found me yesterday;" His gaze fell to the floor, as if he was ashamed. "screamed my ears off, scolded me like a brat, threatened to stake me herself if I didn't 'man up'. Her own words. Told me about the party. Said she'd become a Slayer herself to hunt me down if I didn't come and..." By then, he'd caught the slight twitch to Ally lips and seemed to relax a bit, taking an unnecessary breath. "I'm sorry, Ally Cat."

Oh, so the tables had turned. Last time, it was her asking for forgiveness at his place. Then, it was him. Her eyebrows shot to her hairline in surprise. She'd thought he was angry because she'd called Lindsey. 

"Been acting like an idiot. Shouldn't have left like that." He continued, his eyes finding hers again.

"No, you shouldn't." She agreed, nodding her head as she brought her arms around her stomach, hugging herself. "But you're back."

"I'm back." He nodded too and looked at the present in his hands. "Here. For you."

She let her eyes glance from the gift to his face for a few seconds, watching as he got more and more nervous the longer it took her to accept it. Finally, she grabbed the present and tore the red wrappings, revealing a light wooden box, similar to a jewellery box. She raised an eyebrow at him, surprised he'd give something like that when she never wore any jewellery.

"Not what you think. Open it." He gestured toward the lid and waited until she'd lifted it, revealing a set of five daggers, ranging in shape size, all of them shiny and polished, with black handles and matching sheaths. "I remember what you said during the memory spell Red put us under, about not liking jewels. Thought you'd like these better."

"I do." She smirked, lifting her gaze to meet his. "Don't leave again." She pleaded, her voice dropping a few notches.

He shook his head, eyes sincere and regretful. "I won't."

She left the box on the bench beside the entrance and grabbed him from the lapels of his coat, bringing him close in one pull, his arms going around her with practiced ease. "You better. Or I'll train Dawn so she can fulfil her promise."

He lightly smirked, his baby blues reflecting on his improving mood. "You've got the scariest sisters, you know that?"

She smirked back, pride filling her chest. "Summers women are like that."

As she closed the distance between their lips, his hands pulling her closer to him, a flash startled them both, breaking the kiss that had only lasted a few seconds. When they turned to find the origin of the flash, they found Dawn holding the new camera Xander and Anya had gifted Ally with.

"I wanted to put it to good use. What better moment to use it for the first time?" She explained, shrugging in innocence.

* * *

It was one of the few nights Buffy and Ally patrolled together. Buffy had been too occupied, what with working -sometimes double shifts- and patrolling afterwards, even if Ally covered most nights. Buffy thought it would be better if they both patrolled different parts of town some days, cover more terrain, so they were almost never together. The blonde usually stayed out patrolling longer than Ally did, or the brunette stayed over at Spikes when she could, now that he was back, so they usually didn't see each other until morning, before the two youngest Summers girls left to go to high school.

Moreover, Ally had been spending most of what was previously her 'free time' -meaning she wasn't training, patrolling, taking care of Dawn or with Spike- with her long time love: physics. She gotten back to doing her research, keeping up to date with the latest findings, writing some articles of her own, or even looking up some courses or seminars at UC Sunnydale.

Once in the graveyard, the Slayers didn't talk much, paying attention to their surroundings so they could catch any suspicious sounds. But the cemetery was dead -well, deader than usual- and they got bored pretty fast.

"There's nothing here." Buffy complained, twirling her stake between her fingers. "Not even a single newbie."

"We might be doing our job too well." Ally supplied, grinning lightly at her sister, who rolled her eyes. "We're running out of things to punch."

"We can always go visit dear William." The blonde suggested, receiving a dry glare from her sister in exchange. In fact, they were not far from his crypt.

"He can punch you back now, you know." The brunette reminded, still quite confused as to what had happened to them.

Buffy's voice turned softer, more reassuring than mocking, knowing it was something that bothered them both. "I met Tara and told her about it, maybe she can find out what's wrong."

"Hope she can."

She didn't want to think about it, really. She didn't want to think that something was wrong with her sister and her, that they might not be completely human anymore. She wanted to think about something else, anything to get her mind of her dark thoughts.

And right then, they heard the scream. Just her luck.

They both sprinted toward the shrieks, running among the trees until they saw two cloaked figures attacking a girl. They tackled the attackers, or tried to, as they disappeared as soon as they touched them, leaving them both kneeling on the forest floor.

Everything was a mess from then on. First, the girl was lying on the floor, sobbing, then she disappeared and voices started whispering to them, 'What did you do?', 'What did you do Ally?'. Then Ally was alone, looking around in confusion. Not sooner had the fear of something really wrong started seeping in, she turned, only to find Spike on the floor before her, blood dripping for a tiny cut on his lip. "Bloody hell, what'd you do that for?" He growled, surprised at her apparent attack on him.

"Spike?"

What was going on?

And right the next second, one of the cloaked figures was punching her. There were more, one more that there had originally been when she and Buffy had arrived. Even Spike was there, helping them fight the three demons. After snapping the neck of one of them, he turned, blood still staining the corner of his mouth, game face on. "Ally!" He shouted in warning, barely giving her time to knock down one of the figures before the one that had been attacking Buffy was on her, punching her.

And then it was gone. And it was Spike in front of her again.

"Spike. What's happening?" She couldn't keep the feeling of weakness and bewilderment from getting to her voice.

"So you thought you could just slip away then?" He smirked, nearing her with his usual swagger. He was all drama and ego, but she loved him just like that. "Vampire, remember? I could feel you." His voice dropper, husky and inviting, now they were alone in the woods. Yet she knew, it wouldn't last long.

She was right. In the blink of an eye, she was back in the fight, another demon on her. When she turned to punch another, the scene changed again, and she was hitting Spike, sending him to the floor once more. "Bloody hell, what'd you do that for?"

Again. Was she in some kind of loop? What was going on? Was she going crazy?

Right there, a few feet from where she was standing and Spike was trying to get up, the girl they had seen at first dropped to the floor, sobbing.

And the demons were back. And then they were gone. Over and over, there was the fight, and there was her alone in the woods. She was fighting alongside her sister and boyfriend, and then she was on her own. And right when she thought it was just another demon on her, elbowing it as it grabbed her shoulder from behind, she saw the girl from before as she fell down the slope, rolling, not able to even protect herself from the fall.

Oh, no.

The next moment, Buffy was right beside her, looking at the body just like her, face contorted into a horrified grimace. They ran after the girl, slipping down the slope as quickly as possible, leaving Spike to deal with the last demon. Still, they could hear him, calling after the brunette, shooting after them as soon as he could.

By the time he reached them, reached the body of the girl, the Slayers' eyes were unseeing, lost in their own demons.

Ally couldn't even begin to understand what had happened, but she knew what she'd done.

She'd killed the girl.

Her sister's voice only confirmed her thoughts. "She'd dead." Ally's chest constricted, no air reaching her lungs for a few moments. "I killed her."

Just like that, her head whipped to the side to look at Buffy, kneeling right beside her.

"No, Buffy. I did it. I elbowed her. It was me." She corrected.

But Buffy shook her head, not even looking at her. "No. It was me. I punched her. I thought it was another demon."

What was she talking about? They couldn't have both hit her. They couldn't have both killed her. It was so confusing.

"We have to go." Spike muttered behind them, only to be ignored.

"What happened?" The senior Slayer's voice mirrored her thoughts.

"There's nothing you could do now." He insisted, approaching the brunette. "We have to go before someone sees you."

None of the Slayers were listening to him, though, too caught up in their own guilt, their minds seemingly synchronized. "What did I do?" They whispered, still staring at the body.

She was young. She should not be dead. And she was dead.

"We have to go _now_!" Spike snarled, grabbing one arm from each of the girls and making them stand, dragging them with him and away from the body. Once they had put some distance between the girl and them, he stopped, bringing both Slayers in front of him, still clutching their arms. "All right. Listen to me. Ally. Buffy!" He shook them, trying to snap them out of it.

"She's dead." Buffy muttered, not meeting his gaze.

"I killed her." Ally sobbed, tears gathering in her eyes.

"It was an accident." He corrected her, as if it changed the fact that the girl was dead.

But Buffy hadn't seemed to listen to any of them. "I killed her."

"I'm gonna get you home."

That brought the same answer from both of them, their eyes flying to his, horrified. "No!"

He wasn't taking any of it. "I'm gonna get you home, and you're gonna crawl in your warm comfy beds and stay there!" He growled, before softening his voice, his eyes finding Ally's. "We're gonna sort this out. Trust me."

She did trust him. She always did.

* * *

_"Stay here. I will come back later. Don't you dare leave the house, you hear me?"_

She did as he told. She was too shaken to think clearly. She couldn't get the image of the body out of her mind. Now that the nightmares from Hell had lessened, even when she wasn't sleeping with Spike, she knew that the body would take their place. She couldn't do it. She needed to get her thoughts cleared up.

The basement. She could beat something up, the boxing bag they had put down there would be the perfect victim.

Victim.

Without taping her hands or even putting any footwear on, she started hitting the bag in the silence of the knight, wishing that it would not wake anyone else up. She needed it, needed the pain, the burning on the sole of her feet, the bruising of her knuckles. She needed _something_ to make her feel anything but guilt and sorrow. She needed something to keep her from running to the Police Department and telling what she'd done. But she'd told Spike she would stay there.

How had that come to happen? What had been going on at the forest? It was so confusing, like time had been split and thrown together in no particular order. God, she'd even hit Spike.

There was something really weird about it all.

She was breathless and drenched in sweat when she stopped, probably after several hours of taking all of her fears and frustration out on the bag. She physically couldn't keep on training. She was devoid of any energy, her arms hanging limp on her sides from exhaustion. She should go upstairs, have a shower and wait.

As she walked down the corridor, past Buffy's bedroom, she couldn't help but take a glimpse inside, to see if Buffy could at least sleep. Ally pushed her eldest sister's door open silently, taking a few seconds to let her eyes adjust to the darkness and see if she could make out the blonde in bed.

Buffy was not there.

With a new surge of terrified energy, Ally ran to the bathroom, finding it empty, then downstairs once again and all around the house, finding no clue as to where her sister was.

She'd left. She'd gone to the Police Department. Ally was sure of it.

By the time Ally had grabbed a jacket, thrown her boots on, still wearing her pyjamas, and ran out of the house, she found the beaten up body of her vampire lying not three feet away from the front steps, his face bloodied and swollen, looking like he'd fainted on his way to the door.

"Spike!" She jumped the stairs at once, landing beside him and turning him around so she could take a good look at him, seeing him look at her through the one slightly less swollen eye. "What happened?" She asked softly, cradling his head between her hands and placing it on her lap.

"Went back... took care of the body..." He could barely speak, his face so badly hurt there was no part of it devoid of swelling or gashes or blood. "Found Buffy... Police Department... Tried to... stop 'er."

"Oh, god." Ally gasped, tears pilling in her eyes and running down her cheeks. "She did this to you? She went and told the police she'd done it? I killed the girl..."

"T'was an... accident, love." He reached for one of her hands, holding it against his chest. "None of you... not your fault..."

"Oh, god..."

Buffy had turned herself in. She'd confessed. She'd beaten her vampire.

Oh, god. What were they going to do?

Right then, as she was about to lift Spike off the floor and take him inside, she recognized her sister walking down the street, heading back home.

"Buffy." Ally rose to her feet, letting Spike rest his back against the side of the porch in a sitting position as the Slayers faced each other. "What did you do?" The brunette hissed, hands clenched into fists and body tense.

"Went to the PD." She briefly answered, her eyes wide on Ally.

"So what now? You said you'd killed a girl, and you're going to jail?" Ally whisper-shouted, advancing on Buffy as a machine, firm strides clashing with her pink and white pyjamas.

The blonde lightly shook her head in response, not really looking her sister in the eye. "No."

"You beat up Spike for wanting to stop you from ruining your life over something that I did?" Ally's voice was raising unintentionally, the emotions boiling inside her wanting to be let loose.

"No."

"What's going to happen to Dawn now, Buffy? Did you even think...?"

Buffy cut her, though, not giving her the chance to finish the last question. "I didn't turn myself in. Neither will you. It wasn't us. It was Warren." For once, the blonde looked up, staring at the other Slayer, face to face.

Anger was replaced by shock, her fists unclenching and air leaving her chest in one breath. "What?"

"We have research to do in the morning."

* * *

Spike had stayed at the Summers house for a while that night. Buffy had gone to bed, leaving Ally to take care of the wounds _she_ had inflicted on the bleach blond and think about what they'd been told.

They didn't do it. Neither Buffy nor her. They didn't do it.

Once the vampire could walk by himself and not risk falling face first to the ground again, Ally went back to the room she shared with Dawn, so worn out she didn't even have time to take her boots off when she let herself fall onto the mattress.


	14. Chapter 14

The next few days for Ally were spent taking care of her vampire, nursing his wounds and watching some of the _Passions_ videotapes she'd gotten him what felt like a lifetime ago. She barely saw Buffy, who disappeared more often than not, either working or patrolling, and instead she started training with Spike, given he could actually try to hit her without his head exploding.

It was one of those times they'd been training at the crypt that she voiced her worries about Buffy's absence.

"She's never home anymore. I never see her. Neither does Dawn. I know she is busy with work and her Slayer duties, but..."

"She's not." Spike growled, seeming to have been keeping it in for too long. "You have no idea what the Slayer is doing in her free time love. She's gonna get in deep shit if she doesn't stop soon."

"Stop what?"

From his spot on the couch beside her, sprawled after a heavy sparring session, his eyes flickered to Ally's, hesitation swimming in them. After a few seconds of deliberation, though, his face set into a determined expression, standing up from his seat and holding his hand out for her. "I'll show you."

She took his hand and let him lead her through the streets of Sunnydale, night time bringing the monsters out of their hiding places and to the solitary alleys the likes of Spike frequented.

And it seemed like Buffy did, too.

"What are we doing here, Spike?" Ally asked as she held the bleach blond's hand on her shoulder, her free arm going around his waist under the coat.

"Show you what your beloved sis's been doing."

The roamed through the demons and vampires in every corner until they came to a stop in front of a run-down bar, dark and musty, the same one Ally had once visited while looking for Spike.

The bleach blond approached the bartender with a confident stride, Ally matching his pace as she looked around the bar for any clues as to where Buffy could be. She wouldn't be playing cards at the back, would she? Ally couldn't imagine her sister playing for kittens amongst a group of demons.

"Well, if it isn't the vampire that I've repeatedly told _not to bring Slayers into my bar_." The bardemon hissed, his eyes flickering to the brunette as she rose an eyebrow at him.

"Oh, please, don't worry about me." She scoffed, insulted by his attitude. She missed the karaoke bar.

"We're looking for the other Slayer. She here?" Spike cut to the chase, leaning over the bar to shoot a threatening look at the demon.

"She left a bit earlier. Not twenty minutes." He sincerely answered, face scrunching it what Ally could only recognize as some kind of concern. It wasn't like she could really discern many human emotions with all the scales and ridges.

"Balls." The vampire cursed lowly as he turned toward the door, dragging Ally with him.

"What's going on?" She asked again, only to stop when Spike grabbed a loose skinned demon from its shoulder, making it turn around.

"Have you seen the Slayer leave?" He asked tactlessly, making Ally roll her eyes at his people skills.

"The Slayer's here." The demon growled, locking eyes with Ally.

"The _other_ Slayer. You know, the one that likes to beat us all for fun?" The vampire specified, making Ally clench her fists at the reminder of what Buffy had done to Spike not long ago.

"Went that way with Billy."

"Thanks, mate."

With a nod at the demon, Spike was once again making her hurry alongside him, practically running in the direction the demon had pointed. Meanwhile, Ally's mind was reeling. Why was Buffy there? Why did it look like she spent quite a bit of time there? And who the hell was Billy?

It looked like Spike could manage to trace her sister with his sense of smell the rest of the way, turning this way and that, taking them both deeper into the maze of alleys that was that part of town.

And then he stopped, right in front of a worn down building, the front door slightly ajar.

"She's here." He whispered, frowning at the building as if it had anything to do with what was happening. "Now, I know you're gonna freak out, Ally Cat. If I didn't have so little faith in Goldilocks I would've, too. I only found out a few weeks ago, but she's been doing it for longer."

"Doing what?" She inquired, pressing the matter. What was it that she had to know?

Instead of answering, he gestured to the door with his hand, letting her take the lead. She immediately barged inside, trying to find her sister, looking at the vampire every now and then so he would tell her which way to go. They both went upstairs, ragged breaths letting them know there was someone there.

And there, at the end of a corridor that she could barely believe didn't collapse into the lower floor, was a half-open door, sounds coming from the other side. The carefully approached it, trying not to make much noise, until the screaming started. Then they ran, jumping inside the bedroom, ready for a fight.

What Ally saw made her throat close in on itself, blood draining from her face. There she was, Buffy, on the bed, sitting on top of a Brachen demon, _the_ Brachen demon Ally'd once seen at the bar, the one that had been trembling so much she'd had to calm him down. Buffy's skirt was sprawled around them, but it was clear what they were doing, or what they _had_ been doing before the blonde had grabbed the knife she was holding high in her hand.

"Buffy!" Ally screamed, matching the Brachen demon, Billy's shrieks of fright.

The blonde's head whipped to the side to find her sister and lapdog in the room, watching what she was about to do. Her eyes flickered from the vampire to the brunette, horror painted in her face at being caught in such a situation.

"Let him go, Buffy." Ally snarled, keeping an eye on the knife, carefully moving toward the bed.

Buffy brought up the walls that hid her, face setting into a defying glare. "He's a demon, Alls."

" _Brachen demon_. They're peaceful. You have no more claim on them than you have on humans. _Let him go_." The youngest Slayer repeated, now nearly three feet from the bed.

Billy was watching them while trying to hide his whimpers, eyes flying from one Slayer to the other, hopeful when looking at one, fearful when looking at the other.

"He's a demon." The blonde insisted, lifting the knife once more.

Ally didn't waste one second in tackling her sister, throwing her off the bed while Billy scampered off, trying to adjust his pants as he ran away. The brunette made Buffy drop the knife and trapped her beneath her, holding her down by the arms.

"What the hell are you doing, Buffy? Is this what you spend your time on, instead of being with your family? Fucking and then killing innocents? What is wrong with you?!" With each sentence, Ally shook the Slayer beneath her, eyes watering in disappointment, just as Buffy's did in anger.

"Don't you see? Don't you see what is going on? We are not as we were before! We came back wrong! This is what we are now! We are _wrong_!"

* * *

Ally had underestimated how broken those words had left her sister. She'd been shocked herself, thinking there was something wrong with them, not human, simply _wrong_. She should have taken care of how she told Buffy, said something else, said they were simply _different_ from how they were before.

Maybe then, Buffy wouldn't have turned into _that_. A cold blooded killer.

Well, she was going to set it straight.

"We are still human and still Slayers. We don't kill innocents. We kill evil things. And we kill them with a reason." Ally growled at the blonde still beneath her, tears running down her temples and into her hairline. "So you're gonna stop this at once, 'cause if you don't, I'm gonna tie you in the basement every time I leave the house until you've regained some of your common sense. Oh, and give Giles a call, if I feel like I need some backup in dealing with you."

At the mention of her Watcher, Buffy's eyes widened, no threat worse than disappointing him anymore.  Her lips trembled, yet she kept them shut, blinking back the tears and trying to breathe through the sobs shaking her chest.

"We're going home right now. In case you've forgotten, we've got a baby sister that is spending an awful lot of time without you, because we thought you were _patrolling_." Ally removed herself from on top of Buffy and made the blonde stand with one forceful tug on her arm, dragging her behind her out of the building, Spike following them both in silence.

His face was emotionless, impassive, not giving away any of his thoughts. He fell into step beside his girl once they were outside, not even glancing at the senior Slayer still in Ally's hold.

Things were going to be tough for some time, but it needed to be done.

When the trio reached the Summers house, Ally stopped before getting to the pathway to the front door, making Buffy turn toward her and grabbing her shoulders.

"Now, I won't tell Dawn or Will about any of this, but if I find out you've done it again, hell's going to break loose. Am I clear?" She waited for Buffy to answer, watching as the blonde's eyes narrowed, jaw clenched and her face hardened, yet she nodded once before turning toward the house. "Right. Let's go inside."

Finally releasing her hold on her sister, Ally spun to look at her vampire as the other Slayer walked away from them, up the steps and inside the darkened house. Dawn should be in bed by then.

"Thanks for showing me. Who knows how long this would've gone on if we hadn't been there." The tension and strength that had surrounded Ally during the fight and the whole walk back vanished, leaving a tired and wretched girl, the weight of her family's safety on her shoulders. She stepped closer to Spike and rested her head on his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his waist, underneath the coat. "What am I going to do with her?"

"I say tie her in the basement, but you don't like that, do you, love?" One of his hands cupped the back of her head, the other going around her back, his lips hovering over her ear. "Go get some sleep, Ally Cat. You're gonna need it."

"Just hold me a bit longer." She mumbled, shifting between his arms, letting her forehead fall against his neck and closing her eyes.

In response, he held her a bit tighter, relishing in the warmth of her body, so unlike his.

Meanwhile, Ally's mind was anything but calm, anything but warm. She was terrified. What was she going to do with Buffy? It was obvious that the blonde needed time and someone to take care of her, to show her that they weren't wrong. But how could Ally do that, when she herself wasn't sure of what was happening to her? She didn't feel _wrong_ , but she knew there was something wrong with her. It wasn't because of the chip. It wasn't because she'd come back different. It was because of where she'd been.

She'd been in Hell. If Buffy, who could get as far as to find demons to have sex with them and kill them before it was over, had gone to Heaven, what had Ally done to deserve Hell? Why hadn't she gone to Heaven with Buffy? They'd died the same way, they'd come back the same way. Yet their destinations couldn't have been more contrary.

Why? Why didn't she deserve Heaven?

"There something wrong with me, Spike." She whispered, finally admitting her fears.

"Don't start with that bullshit. You told Buffy yourself, you are human, still a Slayer, still good." He countered with a warning tone to his voice. He wasn't about to let her get lost in those dark thoughts as her sister had.

"Then why did I go to Hell?" Her voice was so weak, so broken, it made him realize she was young, so young. He'd never thought that of her. She'd always had a confidence and courage and wisdom that drew him in, making him feel as if she was much older, much more experienced. Right then, he was reminded of just how young she was, little over nineteen. Barely out of her teenage years.

"Might have been random. Like taking the wrong way out of the highway. Could have ended anywhere, love."

"Buffy went to Heaven. I don't think it was random." She hid her face against his skin, her voice hardly loud enough for his vampire ears. "Apparently she was told that 'death was her gift'. I had no gift. I had Hell. Why? Aren't I good enough, Spike?" At noticing the tremble in her words, the vulnerable side of her, his own voice gained strength.

"No. You hear me? No. You're an angel, love. Way better than that Slayer sister of yours. You even defended a demon. Can't get much more goody-good than that." He gave her a light squeeze, his lips brushing against her ear, speaking even lower. "A bloody saint, you are. You don't judge anyone, no matter what species they are, no matter their past, no matter how fucked up they are. You give everyone a chance. Don't think there's many people better than you, if there's any. Haven't met them, at least."

"You're sweet." She mumbled once again, her face relaxing a bit after his speech.

"Am not." He complained. She knew he was pouting even without opening her eyes.

"Are too. My vampire. My sweet sweet vampire." She smiled lightly, enjoying their moment, one she was sure would be over soon.

"Yours, huh?" She could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Mine." She confirmed, purring as she shifted once again. She was feeling sleepy and so comfortable in his arms that she could stay there forever.

He chuckled, not making any noise, yet his chest shook lightly. "You're falling asleep, love."

"You're comfy."

"Want me to take you to bed?"

"Please..."

Softly, carefully, he lifted her in his arms, letting her head loll to his shoulder, her arms wrapping around his neck. He walked silently to the room, finding the Little Bit fast asleep, only lingering enough to take the boots off Ally's feet and tucking her in her bed. She was already asleep, not even noticing how he didn't leave right away, but glanced from the Nibblet to Ally a couple times, taking in how similar they looked in their sleep.

He would have sworn they were really blood sisters.

* * *

Once back from walking Dawn to high school, Ally prepared herself to face her other sister. Buffy was washing the dishes, her back to Ally when she felt her presence. She pretended not to, though, thinking it would buy her time.

No dice.

"Buff." To her surprise, Ally's voice was much softer than she expected. "We've got to talk."

The blonde heard the kitchen stool being moved, the brunette sitting as Buffy turned off the tap and turned around. She looked like she hadn't slept at all, dark rings under her eyes and pale skin as she still hadn't put on any make up for the day. She hadn't even dressed up yet, the black tank top and sweatpants she usually wore to bed still hanging from her tiny frame.

When the blonde finally looked at her, letting her know she was listening, Ally decided to go on. "We have to find out why the chip doesn't work. If only so that you see there's nothing wrong with us."

"I already asked Tara to run some tests. She should have them ready soon." Buffy muttered, letting her eyes drop to the surface of the island and leaning back against the kitchen counter.

"Good." Ally paused, breathing deeply and glancing from Buffy to the window. "And I know there's nothing wrong with you, Buff. You're not what you might think you are. You are not evil. I know that. I know you. Whatever it is that makes you feel like you had to do that... we'll work it out, alright? Just... don't keep it to yourself. I'm here. You can count on me."

The blonde stared at her for a few seconds, processing her words, making sure she was being sincere. Then, the senior Slayer nodded once and left, leaving Ally in the kitchen, feeling like she had failed Buffy by not noticing her inner turmoil sooner.

* * *

It wasn't long after finding out about Buffy's affairs that Ally came home to find Buffy crying on Tara's lap. She imagined the worst, thinking Tara had found something really wrong with them, only to find out the reason her sister cried was because there was nothing wrong. It meant she had no excuse for what she'd done, no reason to have acted like that.

When Buffy saw Ally standing next to her, a hand on the blonde's shoulder, she launched herself at the brunette, burying her face on her shoulder as sobs shook her body. "Please don't forgive me..." She begged, grabbing Ally's t-shirt in her fists.

Tara and the junior Slayer shared a concerned look, both their eyes teary as they watched one of the toughest women they'd ever met so broken.

"It's over, Buffy. It's gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay. Everything will turn out right, give it time. I won't let you fall again." She promised, whispering in her sister's ear and rubbing her back. "I promise, Buff."

Slowly but surely, the blonde's sobs diminished, her breathing evened and she finally raised her head from Ally's shoulder, looking at both of them with red rimmed eyes.

"I need your help." Her voice still trembled, yet there was a determined air to her that made Ally proud. She would get better. Her sister was not one to fall and don't stand back up.

* * *

Ally took to going out to patrol sooner, just so she could wait for Buffy to get out of work and accompany her home, going through the graveyard on their way. Multitasking at its finest: walking her broken sister home, fulfilling their Slayer duties and bonding at the same time. It meant she spent less time with both Spike and Dawn, but it was necessary. Buffy needed her right then, and she'd be damned if she let her deal with her inner demons alone.

They could fight real demons together.


	15. Chapter 15

It was Buffy's birthday, meaning there was going to be a party with the Scoobies, meaning there was something for Buffy to be happy about. Her friends and family were going to be there, celebrating _her_. Surely that would make her happier, right?

That was what Ally was hoping, at least. She really wanted everything to turn out perfect that night. Hence the cooking a huge nice cake and a ton of homemade snacks, enough to have the household running on sweets for a couple weeks afterwards.

By the time she had finished frosting the cake and left her fudge to cool, it was time to pick up Dawn from high school. She hurried, throwing a jacket on and running out of the house so as not to keep the teen waiting, nervous energy running through her veins.

She needed everything to be perfect.

Dawn was just getting out of the building when Ally arrived at the high school, making her sister smile at her. She jogged the last few meters to the teen and threw her arms around her, letting the tension of the day leave her body. She was tired, and it was only early afternoon.

"Long day?" Dawn chuckled, hugging her back.

"I've been baking _all_ day." She groaned and made them both sway one way and the other. "I've made cake, and fudge, cookies, sandwiches, pizza bites, chips..."

"You do realize there's like... ten or eleven of us, right?" The teen laughed again, realizing how other students had started to notice them, standing in the middle of the entrance, hugging and swaying. "Come on, let's go home. We still have to prepare the drinks, right? You told me we'd do that together."

Dawn pulled back while Ally lazily dropped her head on her sister’s shoulder; she was getting tall. "Yeah. We have to stop at the store first, though."

"Great. I'm thirsty." They walked arm in arm out of the high school area, enjoying one of the only moments they had been able to spend together for quite some time. Other than the walks to and from school and doing Dawn's homework, they barely spent any time together anymore, Ally was always busy, be it with patrolling, Buffy, or Spike.

* * *

That night, as Xander, Anya, Buffy and Ally got the snack dishes ready, Anya announced they had invited someone for Buffy to meet. A guy.

"For Buffy? Really?" Dawn asked excitedly. None of them noticed the way the birthday girl's face feel, Ally reaching for her hand under the counter and squeezing in support.

"Ahh, don't worry, it's not a setup." Xander assured, trying to not look too guilty.

Anya didn't really do the same, grinning widely. "Right. No. Just an attractive single man, with whom we hope you find much in common. And if you happen to form a romantic relationship leading to babies and many double dates with us so we have someone else to talk to, yay!"

Xander looked uncomfortable, having tried to stop his fiancée from talking a couple times, not even daring to look Buffy in the eye.

The blonde Slayer kept her annoyance under control, shooting her best friend a dry glare. "I assume this was an act of kindness? That'll help with the not throttling. And hey, there's another couple, remember? Alls and Billy Idol Jr.?"

"Can you imagine a double date with Spike _and_ Xander?" Ally scoffed, rolling her eyes at the look of utter disgust in the dark haired man's face. "No, thank you. I'd rather watch _Passions_ again."

It wasn't long after that, when Ally, Tara -who had just arrived- and Buffy were alone in the kitchen -Xander and Anya had taken all the snacks to the living room- that Spike and another demon entered through the back door, casually joining the little group. Spike approached his girl and handed her the present he'd brought under his arm, making her smile and kiss him lightly before turning towards the demon.

"Hi. We've met once before." He waved his hand in salute, something akin to a smile in his saggy face.

"Oh, yeah, you were at the... card game, right?" Ally remembered, back when Lindsey had first been in Sunnydale. She rose from her seat on the counter to leave the present on one side, somewhere it wouldn't get in the way. 

"Yeah. I'm Clement. Clem." He looked over toward Tara and Buffy, waving his hand again. He didn't seem to be dangerous, for a demon. More like the cheery nerd every single person seemed to know. Apparently, Spike too.

Right as the demon introduced himself, Xander came back into the kitchen with another man on his heels, quite nice looking, blonde, tanned skin, overall handsome. Ally smiled welcomingly at him, knowing he was Buffy's 'date', and stood next to Xander as he introduced the new guy.

"Buffy, Richard." _Well, that was brief._

"Hey." Richard smiled at the girls in the kitchen, nodding at Ally once before looking around.

"He was wondering where the best place was to park his car." Xander explained in what Ally identified as a lame attempt to make the pair talk.

Buffy didn't seem to catch on to it, though. "Oh, that's easy, just..."

"Buffy will show ya." The dark haired goof said as he pushed his friend toward the blonde Slayer, sending the 'couple' out of the kitchen in an instant.

"Smooth." Ally patted Xander's back once the couple was out of hearing distance, chuckling to herself as she took the disposable cups and jar and took them to the living room.

Apparently, she was right on time to save Dawn from being patronized by Anya, calling her over with the excuse of helping her prepare the drinks. Her sister shot her a grateful smile once her back was to the ex-vengeance demon, making Ally wink at her.

* * *

The night dragged on opening gifts, eating way too much, dancing, drinking... And no one wanted to leave yet. Really, Ally was having fun, finally getting some quality time with Dawn, cuddling with Spike on the floor while they watched TV, playing cards or monopoly, or any other silly game they could think of. Playing monopoly with Anya was a real challenge, yet Richard and Buffy were easy enough to beat. Richard was really nice, sweet, and it was obvious he and Buffy were getting along nicely.

When Ally gave up on monopoly and approached her baby sister, they took to gossiping about the possible new couple, fantasizing about their wedding, calling him their new 'brother-in-law' and talking about the many nieces and nephews they would have, making Buffy glare at them in embarrassment when they got so excited about naming the kids they forgot to talk low.

Before they realized how late it was, sun was shining outside and Ally was asleep on the floor, her head on Dawn's lap while the teen watched TV with Clem and Xander.

It wasn't long before people started to realize they should leave to go to work, class, or whatever, waking Ally up as Dawn looked around like a sad puppy.

"Hey, we should get changed and go to high school, shouldn't we?" Ally asked from her lap, rubbing her eyes lazily.

"Yeah... but I don't want to leave. I don't want anyone to leave..."

"It was fun, huh?" The junior Slayer smirked and started to get up, holding a hand out for Dawn to do the same. "Come on, quick shower, get dressed, we're out the door in ten minutes."

However, it looked like any effort they made toward leaving the house was useless. Nobody could so much as get to the door.

"There's something keeping us in this house." Buffy announced after some time trying to get out, once they were all sitting in the living room.

"Or someone." Xander added, standing near the doorway.

But it was all for naught, no one could even 'head' toward the door, and everyone started complaining and telling where they had to be, be it work, class, etc.

"I know, I know, we all have places that we'd rather be." Buffy voiced as she tried to keep everyone calm. So much for a happy birthday. "I think the first priority has to be to find a way out."

"Sure. Of course you all wanna leave. 'Cause being stuck in here with me, that would really suck, right?"

Buffy frowned slightly as Ally looked back at her baby sister, bewildered. What was Dawn talking about?

"No, Dawnie! It's just, we have more important things to do."

Even Ally flinched at Willow's words, while Dawn grimaced and got up from her seat.

"Yeah, I know. Important. Whatever that means, right?" And with that, she walked out of the living room and hurried upstairs.

Not two seconds later, Buffy, Ally, Tara, Willow, Spike and Xander shot after the teen, following her to her room, where she threw herself on the bed, her back to them.

"Dawn?" Buffy tried as the rest looked at the young brunette.

"What?"

"Did you do something?"

"Buffy!" Ally whisper-shouted, slapping the blonde's arm. 

"Me?"

"Do you know something? 'Cause we want you to feel like you can tell us." Tara insisted. Really, Ally often thought she was the one that really took care of Dawn when Buffy and she were gone, other than Spike. 

Dawn sat up and turned to face them.

"What would I know?"

"Look, we're not accusing you of anything, it's just ... you were kind of taking it personal down there."

They so were accusing her. Didn't they realize that was not the way? Dawn was building up walls, stilling herself. They were not going to get anything out of her.

"Oh. Okay. So you've all just decided that somehow I'm responsible. Great. Here's me baskin' in the love." The teen snapped sourly, shooting daggers through her eyes.

"Please, leave." Ally asked, turning toward the group, placing herself between the bed and them, her back to Dawn.

"Ally we need to..." Buffy started complaining, her hand held out toward Dawn.

"You need to leave us alone. Now." The eldest brunette cut her, taking control of the situation. She was displaying an air of authority that Buffy hadn't been able to pull off in a long time. "Everyone, out. Wait in the living room. I'll go back down later."

"Ally, if she..." The blonde tried again, only for Ally to point with her hand toward the door, cutting her once again.

"Out."

As annoyed with her as they looked, maybe except for Spike, everyone left the room silently. When Ally closed the door behind them and turned to face Dawn once more, the teen was looking miserable, her arms around her stomach and her face looking down, watery eyes almost shut closed.

"You okay, Dawnie?" Ally approached her and sat next to the teen, her hand rubbing Dawn's back slowly.

"Yeah, fine." She muttered unconvincingly, not meeting Ally's eyes.

"Yeah, right. And I'm the queen. Come on, what's going on? Tell me."

"You think I did something too, don't you?" Dawn's head whipped to look at her, furious.

"I don't mean the can't-leave-the-house issue. I mean the 'Of course you all wanna leave. 'Cause being stuck in here with me, that would really suck, right?'" She mimicked, making Dawn's face soften. "What did you mean, Dawnie?"

"No one wants to spend time with me." She explained meekly, her voice as weak and broken as Buffy's had been not so long ago.

"Why would you say that?"

"No one's around anymore. You all have better things to do. More important things to do." She repeated Willow's words, shifting so that Ally couldn't see her face.

"Dawn... You should have told me you felt lonely. I... I'm sorry I haven't spent much time with you, but..."

"You'd rather spend it with Buffy." The teen sobbed, her shoulders lightly trembling. "Everyone does."

"No." Ally denied firmly, placing a hand on Dawn's shoulder. "It's not like that. I haven't been spending more time with Buffy because I prefer her, Dawnie... it's... We had a fight." That made Dawn look up and turn toward her slightly, confused at her admission. "Things were... getting worse between us. The... night you and Willow went out, when that demon attacked you... Buffy and I had a fight, right before we found you. And afterwards... another one, more or less. We have been spending more time together to... bond. You and I have never really had much problems, Dawnie. We've always gotten along, from the beginning. Remember how Buffy and I started? She and I have always had a... more complicated relationship. Even when we were brought back... Buffy went to Heaven. I went to Hell. We're basically opposites." By then, Dawn had fully turned toward her, listening to her every word. "You and I are more alike, we understand each other better. She and I need to work more on our relationship." Ally paused, letting Dawn process what she had just told her. "I never wanted to leave you alone. You should have told me how you felt. I've missed you, but I thought Buffy needed me more. I never thought you'd feel like this."

"I didn't know..." She started explaining, shaking her head lightly as if to chase away other dark thoughts. "I promise I didn't do anything, Ally, I didn't!"

"It's alright. I know." Ally wrapped her arms around her sister, letting her lay her head on the junior Slayer's shoulder as Ally did the same on Dawn's. "You and I are gonna have a girl's night when this is all over, alright? We're gonna spend so much time together you're gonna get sick of seeing me."

"I could never."

* * *

When Ally went back downstairs, leaving Dawn in her room to keep her away from accusing eyes, Spike, Willow and Anya were in front of the door, waiting for something. Apparently, Tara was doing a spell to free them, and they were just waiting for her signal to throw themselves at the door.

Somehow, Ally knew it wouldn't work, and she was right.

But something else had been freed. Something -or someone- who Buffy and she had killed a few nights prior. The demon from the graveyard, with the huge sword Buffy had unwisely left in the living room attacked them, slashing the air and wounding Richard before the senior Slayer tackled him, both of them landing on the floor before the demon disappeared.

Ally hurried to the injured man's side, taking in the large sword wound on his stomach, probably life threatening if they didn't act fast.

* * *

Night came again while they were still trapped in the house, on high alert due to the demon that could appear and disappear at will, brandishing a huge sword.

"So, you ever think about _not_ celebrating a birthday? Just to try it, I mean." Spike suggested to Buffy as the three sisters, Sophie and Spike sat around the living room.

Buffy shot him a dry glare but mostly ignored him, changing subjects. "I'm gonna go check upstairs. Keep an eye on things down here?"

Spike and Ally nodded, the brunette sitting next to Dawn on the couch, holding each other's hand in an attempt to calm their nerves. Buffy turned toward them on her way out of the living room. "You stay here, okay?"

Not a couple seconds after the senior Slayer had left, they started hearing creaking noises coming from the walls, making Ally's hold on Dawn's hand tighten, even as she tried to keep it fairly soft so as not to hurt the teen.

"What's that noise? It's in the walls, isn't it?" Her baby sister asked, Spike turning and getting his ear close to the wall to listen to the sounds coming from the inside.

Ally stood from her seat and approached him, placing her hand on his arm as she tried to guess which part of the house the demon was in. "No, love, stay away from the wall." Spike pulled her away, getting himself between the wall and her.

"Be careful, then." She pleaded, frowning lightly in concern.

He smirked at her then, brushing a lock of her hair out of her face. "Aren't I always?"

"No, that's the problem." She growled under her breath, averting her eyes from his.

And then, just as he was about to retort, they heard Xander scream from the dining room. Both of them ran, not a moment of hesitation, and Spike tried to pry the demon away from Xander as Ally kicked it as she grabbed hold of his sword arm. They managed to get the dark haired man free, yet the demon threw his elbow back and knocked the vampire down, slashing his sword around and making Ally have to back away and dodge, the blade barely missing her head. Xander wasn't that lucky, or fast, and got his arm cut lightly, not an important wound.

Soon Buffy joined the fight, actually managing to hit the demon and giving Spike and Ally time to go back into the offensive, only for the vampire to get badly hit again. Between the two Slayers, they landed several kicks and punches, eventually causing the demon to disappear into the wall again.

Ally immediately went to Spike's side, helping him sit up and trying to find any wounds or bruises that needed to be taken care of. "Are you alright?" She asked once she made sure there was nothing _visible_.

"Peachy." He drawled as he held onto her hand and stood up, frowning at the point where the demon had disappeared. After glaring holes into the wall, his eyes turned toward Ally, softening at her concerned look. "I'm fine, love, nothing to worry about." He brushed her hair over her shoulder again and wrapped his arm around it, bringing her closer to his side, her head laying on his chest.

She sighed, getting tired. They had barely slept, they were trapped, and a demon was trying to kill them inside the house. She was starting to feel a bit claustrophobic, yet his cold touch seemed to calm her down, keep her grounded. "I always worry about you."

At the gagging sounds coming from Buffy and Xander, who was joined by a slightly catatonic Anya, Ally rolled her eyes and brought her arms around Spike's middle, daring them to say something about them.

* * *

Most of the Scoobies gathered in the dining room, except for Buffy and Dawn, trying to come up with _anything_ that could get them out of there. "I just think we haven't thought of the right way out yet, that's all."

Spike, with his arms wrapped around Ally's waist, her back to his chest, looked around the room as if not wanting the demon to hear him. "Well, we can't just stay put like cattle, waiting for that thing to pop out every time it gets peckish."

"I'd say we do another spell, but I-I think we've tried everything." Tara admitted, clearly not happy about it, and even nervous, as it was only natural.

Anya didn't seem to agree with her, though. "Well ... that's not completely true, is it? I mean, not everything. Not exactly." She looked at Willow, making Ally frown, suspecting what the ex-vengeance demon was going to suggest. "We're sitting here with an incredibly powerful witch ... much more powerful than you, Tara, I'm sorry... only no one seems willing to say it."

"I can't." Willow lightly shook her head.

"No, see, that's not exactly true either. Not can't, won't."

"You don't know how much I hate this. I don't know if there's even ... anything I could do."

"Yes ... and a good way to find out is to sit around and try nothing. That was sarcasm, by the way."

Sensing his girlfriend tense between his arms, Spike tried to speak up. "Look..."

Willow cut him. "It's dangerous."

"And so is all of us dying!" Anya insisted, getting angrier by the second.

"Will ... look, I don't wanna gang up on you ... but Anya kinda has a point. We brought you back from it once. We're all here, it's just one little spell, whatever happens, we can bring you back again."

"You seriously have no idea what having an addiction is like, do you?" Ally sneered at the couple, her grip on Spike's arms around her tightening dangerously.

Willow still tried to defend herself, convince the rest of what a spell could mean for her. "No. I can't. If I start, I ... I might not be able to stop."

"And whose fault is that?" Anya stood up brusquely, walking up to the redhead with a scowl on her face. "You know, if you hadn't gotten so much of this in your system in the first place..."

"Hey!" Tara shot from her place and got right in front of Anya, preventing her from getting to Will. "You're gonna back off!" She stared down at the blonde, holding her own like Ally had never seen her do. "She said no, and that's it. You're not gonna make her do something that she doesn't want to. And if you try... You're gonna have to go through me first. Understood?"

As Anya glared at Tara, Ally couldn't help but smirk in satisfaction, proud of the usually meek witch.

"Fine. If you all aren't willing to get us out of this, then I will do it myself." And with that, Anya left the room, going upstairs for who-knows-what, Xander right behind her.

Ally caught Tara's eyes and nodded at her, the smirk still in place, getting a grin in response. She thought it would be good to leave the witches alone for a few minutes, so she turned toward her vampire, getting out of his embrace, and took his hand instead. "I'm thirsty." As subtly as she could, she moved her eyes toward the ex-couple before dragging him to the kitchen behind her, only letting go of him when she got to the fridge.

"That was a lame excuse to get them alone, Ally Cat."  He chuckled from across the counter, leaning his forearms on the surface.

"Or maybe I wanted _us_ alone." She winked at him over her shoulder from her bent position before the fridge before turning back and grabbing a bottle of water. But when she straightened herself and turned to leave the bottle on the counter, she found Spike right in front of her, his hands resting on the closed fridge, caging her.

"Did you?" His face came closer, lips twitching into his classical smirk as her heart started to beat faster.

It was amazing, really, how his proximity still sent her heartbeat right up, made her forget how to breath properly or made her cheeks burn like a teenage girl on her first date. His smirk grew as he sensed all those things -blasted vampire senses giving away every single one of her reactions- and she wiped it off his face by kissing him. At least, when they had both closed their eyes, he couldn't see her tomato face.

And then they heard Anya talking to someone, clearly upset, and everyone rush downstairs to where she was. Something was going on.

They pulled away from each other and joined the rest in the living room, where Anya was facing Dawn, Buffy by the blonde's side. "Anya, hold on, okay?" Then she turned toward Dawn, who Ally soon joined so as not to leave her alone under everyone's stare. "Tell her you didn't do this. Tell her it's a mistake."

Ally intervened, her eyes moving from Anya to her eldest sister. "What's going on?"

Instead of answering her, Buffy looked over toward the couch, where the box with the coat Dawn had given her as a birthday present had been left the night before.

"No!"

Buffy walked over to the couch, staring down at the box holding the black leather jacket as her face fell in sudden understanding. "Oh."

"Buffy..." Dawn couldn't even come up with an answer, making Ally frown as she tried to understand the situation.

"How are we supposed to trust you, Dawn? I mean, you ... you say you didn't put us here, but look at this stuff! How are we supposed to believe you?"

"What the heck is going on?" Ally asked once again as she put herself in front of Dawn so Anya would stop looking at her. Alright, she was pissed at Anya, there was no denying that.

But Buffy was at least trying to defend Dawn too, much to Ally's surprise. "Look, I-I don't think she... I don't think it's all her fault, okay? She ... there was a guidance counsellor, or someone pretending to be a guidance counsellor, she, she made Dawn make a wish."

Anya immediately seemed to catch to what was happening. "Guidance counsellor? You made a wish to someone you've never seen before?"

Dawn moved from behind her sister, if only to be able to look at the ex-demon. "Yeah?"

"Did she wear a pendant with a, with a dark blue stone?"

"And little red flecks?" The teen specified.

"Uhh, for crying out loud. Halfrek!" Anya called out, looking exasperated. "It's Halfrek, a vengeance demon. You made a wish to a vengeance demon."

"I didn't know." Dawn defended herself, letting Ally take her hand in support.

"Only a vengeance demon can break her own vengeance spell. Nothing else will work. She's the only one who can get us out of here. Hallie, get your ass down here!"

And in a puff of smoke, a gross looking woman appeared, a pendant just like the one they'd described hanging from her neck. "You rang?"

Before anyone could say anything else, Halfrek was ran through with a sword, the demon that kept disappearing right behind her.

Both Slayers jumped into action, attacking the demon with practiced moves, their teamwork having improved with all the patrols they had been doing together lately. Spike came behind the demon, holding it for them and making it easier to land powerful hits, even giving Ally the chance to grab its sword arm and bend it until she heard it crack, the sword falling to the floor with a clank. Buffy quickly picked it up and buried it deep in the demons chest, Spike jumping back to avoid being skewered too.

The demon glowed blue and melted into the sword, which Buffy made sure to snap with her knee so he would not be able to come back.

As soon as the demon was out, Anya hurried to the _other_ demons side, who was still lying on the ground. "Her pendant! Get her pendant!"

However, when she was just a couple inches away from the vengeance demon, she jerked upright, holding her hand out to prevent Anya from going any closer, instead sending her flying to the couch. "There will be no touching of the pendant." Halfrek rose to her feel, brushing her clothes off after being on the floor. Everyone, even Ally who had tumbled farther into the living room after breaking the other demons arm, stared at her in surprise. "What? Did you think I'd be stopped by a sword in the chest?" She looked down at her chest and pulled at her clothes to see the hole the sword had made. "Flesh wound. Honestly, Anyanka, you used to know better."

Anya came closer to the demon she seemed to know quite well. "How could you? Why would you do this?"

Halfrek looked at her as if stating the obvious. "I told you I was going to take care of some business while I was here in town."

"Yeah, but cursing us? Some of them are in the wedding party." She said those last words in a hushed voice, as if they couldn't hear every single thing she said.

"I just go where I'm..." Halfrek paused then Spike entered the living room, her eyes widening in shock. "William?"

He stared at her in bewilderment for a moment, leaning a bit back when a look of familiarity hit him. "Hey, wait a minute." 

"You guys know each other?" Buffy asked, glancing between them like the situation was not as weird as it was.

Ally, though, frowned at the look Halfrek was giving her vampire and walked up to him, crossing her arms across her chest as she stood close to him, making the demon's eyes move to her. "Uh, no. No." Still, Halfrek fiddled with her hair, watching the vampire from the corner of her eye.

Spike played along, glancing down to his girl before averting his eyes guiltily. "Not really."

They proceeded to discuss vengeance demons, Anya hinting to Halfrek's daddy issues while Ally glared at her, leaning back against Spike just to feel some part of him, which soon became a lot as he brought his arms around her waist once again.

The demon felt the need to defend herself, even as she frowned when she caught sight of the brunette Slayer with the vampire she seemed to know from way before. "Sling all the little barbs at me that you want, Anyanka, it doesn't change the fact that this girl was in pain, and none of you could hear it. I could hear her crying out everywhere I went in this town. It was unbearable. And none of you knew." Ally's heart clenched at the thought of how much Dawn had suffered, Spike's hold tightening a bit in an attempt to make her feel a bit better. Still, she knew the demon was somewhat right, and she had neglected her baby sister. Guilt made her eyes water, convincing her even more that she needed a lot of quality time with Dawn was all that was over. "You people deserve to be cursed. Enjoy your time together. From now on ... all you have is time. Time ... and each other. Good luck!"

Halfrek moved her arms dramatically, trying to leave in what was probably another puff of smoke, only to realize it was not working. After the second try, Anya huffed, rolling her eyes. "It's the curse, Hallie."

Realizing how ridiculous she looked, she muttered, annoyed. "Oh, for crying out loud." She laughed a bit. "Fine, the curse is lifted! We can all leave now! ... Damn it." And with a snap of her fingers and a puff of smoke -drama queen -, she was gone.

* * *

When everyone had finally left or gone to bed, except for the two Slayers, the weight of their family problems finally settled. They sat on the couch, side by side, staring off into space.

"Dawnie needs help." Ally told her eldest sister, knowing that in this case, they could both work together. When Buffy needed help, they couldn't include Dawn on it. They couldn't include anyone but Tara on it. But they could then, for Dawn. They would both work together.

"Yes, she does. She has been stealing. From the Magic Box, from other shops..."

Somehow, this revelation didn't surprise her. It was a cry for help, as Halfrek had put it. "We have to take care of this, and we have to do it right. We can't attack her now, Buff."

"I know." The blonde nodded, hugging herself.

"We need to be by her side, not against her. She's lonely."

"I know." Buffy locked gazes with her, for once, looking hopeful. "We can do it, right?"

"Yes. We will do it, together." Ally threw and arm around Buffy's shoulders and let her lean into her. "We'll figure out something."


	16. Chapter 16

There was no way. No matter how much time Ally and Dawn spent together, how many times the eldest appeared at the entrance to Dawn's high school with another plan for them to spend the afternoon together, from ice skating to sitting around in a park doing homework, studying and just lying on the grass, Dawn would not get tired of her.

Afternoons with Dawn, evenings with Buffy, nights with Spike. Her schedule was full from the moment she went out the door to pick her baby sister up. And it felt so satisfying. She felt _needed_. Dawn needed her to not feel alone. Buffy needed her to stay sane and from turning into a ruthless killer. Spike needed her. Simply needed her.

It was heart-warming and an extra pressure at the same time.

When she left for the night to stay with Spike, about five nights a week, Buffy stayed with Dawn. At least that way, Ally knew Buffy was not scurrying out to go back to old 'habits'.

It was one of those days when they had been skating for hours after school and had just gotten home to relieve their achy feet that Xander arrived, planning on spending some time with Willow before Buffy got home. There was no visit to Spike planned for that night, seeing as the last couple days were dedicated to her sisters fully, only to spend some quality time the three of them together.

Ally was laying on top of Dawn's bed while the youngest brunette got them some water from the kitchen when she heard the phone ring. She didn't even get up, knowing someone else would take it as they were much closer. It was not long before a voice answered, most probably Willow, although Ally couldn't really discern any words.

Soon, Dawn went back to their room, holding a couple glasses and a jar filled with water, her face scrunched up, mixed emotions flowing in her eyes. Something was bothering her.

"Buffy is bringing her ex in a while." Dawn informed her, sitting on her bed and handing her sister one of the glasses.

Ally tilted her head, confused at the teen's reaction to the news. "You didn't like him?"

"Oh, no, I did. It's just... he left without saying goodbye." She stared at the comforter sadly, clutching her glass tightly on her lap.

The junior Slayer reached over and brushed some of her sister's hair out of her face, placing it over her shoulder tenderly. "That must have stung."

"It did."

"I'm sure he didn't want it to be like that. There must have been a reason."

As they waited, while Dawn tried to act nonchalant, yet Ally could see her shift in bed, impatiently glancing at the door every now and then. When they finally heard the door downstairs open, Dawn shot up from the bed, the other brunette following after her. They ran to the entrance to find a couple in black gear with Buffy, clad similarly to them, just as Willow stepped back from hugging the man.

As Dawn got to the bottom of the stairs, Ally froze, eyes locked on the man looking straight back at her, all colour drained from his face.

"Riley?" She whispered in a tiny voice, catching the attention of everyone in the house.

She couldn't make her limbs move, she could barely breath. How could it be? How could he be there? She could feel her blood going cold in her veins, the shock keeping her rooted to the stairs.

"Ally." He finally managed to answer, eyes still wide, yet he was the first to spring into action and step toward her.

It was enough to push Ally to move, flinging herself forward to hug him, a broken sob leaving her throat as her arms surrounded him, his doing the same with her.

"Oh, God. Oh, God. I can't believe it..." She whispered as she trembled and whimpered, her face buried on his chest.

"So..." Buffy's voice cut the silence, but it sounded very far away for the youngest Slayer, even if she was only a couple feet from them. "You two know each other?"

Ignoring the question, too caught up in the moment, Riley patted and rubbed the girl's back, making her pull away slowly as her body still shook with sobs. He brought his hands to her face to wipe the tears away, his skin having recovered some colour by then.

Willow and Dawn could barely recognize Ally in that moment. They were used to the confident young woman, the Slayer, the big sister. This Ally was so different, she looked smaller, more fragile, almost like she would break if Riley let go of her. She stared at him with all her walls down, not even trying to hide her feelings from him, and therefore anyone in the room.

Covering her cheeks with his palms, he looked at her eyes, filled with tears that eventually escaped. "I thought you were dead. Or turned." He revealed, his voice low with emotion, eyes glistening with contained moisture.

"You found them, then?" She felt so weak, so young, like a child again.

"They called me immediately when they identified your dad. I've been looking for you ever since."

"I've been... doing what you didn't want me to." She grimaced, averting her eyes and thus seeing how the rest of the people looked at them, specially the tall woman in black gear. "Hi."

"You're Ally?" She asked incredulously. "As in 'first girl Riley ever took home' Ally?"

Ally glanced between the woman and her old friend, amusement filling her previously teary face. "Your grandma is still going on about that?"

"Yeah, still." Riley chuckled, locking gazes with the other woman for a second. "Sam, this is Ally. Ally, this is my wife Sam."

Her jaw dropped. "Wife?" She repeated, as unbelieving as Sam had been a few seconds earlier. Then, memories started coming back, making her smirk and then hide it with a pout. "What about our deal?"

It took him a second to realize what she was referring to, and he burst out laughing when he did. It felt good. It felt familiar. He could have never expected to find her there, yet...

"Deal?" Sam asked as she glanced between them.

"If he was still single when he got to thirty-five, we were going to get married. I'll have to find another back-up husband now." She complained, giving him the puppy eyes.

"Graham will take up that offer as soon as I tell him you're alive. Oh God." He hugged her again, one hand treading through her head. "You're all grown up too." He barely believed his eyes. It was too much.

"Nineteen." She smiled cheekily.

"Can someone explain what's going on?" Buffy asked, uncomfortable with being ignored the first time and not understanding anything about what was going on. 

"Oh." They all turned to Willow when she spoke up, her eyes wide beside Xander on the corridor next to the stairs. "Ally _Finn_."

"Oh." Dawn and Buffy repeated together.

"What?" Riley's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, looking around in confusion.

"I changed my last name when I left L.A. Used one I was familiar with." Ally explained, shrugging her shoulders.

"Care to explain how you know each other? Are you related?" Xander asked, voicing every Scooby's thoughts.

"Not really... I basically followed him around for two years when I was thirteen. I was staying at the military base he was being trained at while my dad made some business with some of the people in higher ranks. He told me about vampires and demons. I would be dead if it wasn't for him." She looked up at Riley, whose arm she was hanging onto, then at Sam. "You got the best one. Congratulations."

Sam smiled back warmly, happy about seeing her husband with the girl he cared so deeply for. "I never really thought I'd get to meet _The Ally_."

" _The Ally_ , huh?" The aforementioned grinned, amused at the man's sudden light blush.

"Shut up."

"Graham talks a lot about you too." Sam continued, smirking too. "Although it's mainly when he wants to tease Finn."

"Oh, is he here too?" She jumped excitedly.

"He'll be, the moment I tell him we've found you. But first, we've got work to do." He announced as he looked back at Buffy.

It was then that Ally realized Riley was Buffy's ex, and the blonde looked kinda uneasy. It was understandable. There her ex was, with his new wife and practically attached to the hip to her sister.

"Cool clothes, Buff." She tried to make her lighten up.

* * *

Sitting on the couch, Ally on one side of Riley, Sam on the other, she listened as they explained the situation, even though he stopped when he started with the gory details to look at Dawn and Ally. "Are you sure you wanna be around hearing all this?"

"Hey, I'm nineteen _and_ a Slayer. I've seen worse than you might think. And Dawn is now involved in the research, full Scooby Gang member."

Silence fell over the couple as they stared at her, until Riley managed to talk again. "Slayer?" He choked.

"Yeah. Activated seven months ago."

He glanced at Buffy, seeming to recall another conversation. "You really did die."

"Yeah." The blonde nodded, her eyes finding the other Slayer's. "She did, too."

* * *

Noticing the paleness in Riley's face again, Ally couldn't help but think they were giving him too much information at once. It was too overwhelming, after about four years of not seeing her. After all they both had surely gone through. Want it or not, they didn't know shit about what the other's life had been like all that time. Heck, he was Buffy's ex and she hadn't known a thing for a year.

Still, he was her Riley. Her protector. It felt so good to be by his side, hugging his arm again. It felt right. It felt like... home, and childhood, and innocence.

"You _what_?" His voice had risen a bit, shock and concern breaking through his usually collected demeanour.

"I died." Ally repeated, smiling sheepishly, like a child that had been caught stealing sweets when they'd told her she couldn't have any more for the day. "But it was only for a few months. I'm alive and much stronger now." As if to prove her point she extended her arms, letting him take a good look at her and dismissing her death.

"When exactly did you come to Sunnydale?" Riley asked, mentally doing the math about her being activated seven months earlier.

"A couple weeks after you left." Dawn answered for Ally, her arms crossed over her chest as she shot a dry look at the man, still pained and ready to make him feel guilty for it.

"Just my luck..." He sighed, shaking his head lightly.

"Back to the matter at hand. Suvolte demon." Ally made him focus, trying to distract him from her death.

Dawn followed her lead, inquiring further. "So, this demon shredded your guys, and now you're looking for a little payback?"

"No. It came here to the Hellmouth to, to spawn." Sam sighed looking at her husband for a second. "But we think it already hatched its eggs somewhere."

"And the plan was to track it. Let the demon take us to its nest."

"And ... now they're gonna hatch a bunch of ... baby demon things?" She grimaced, her face twisting comically.

"Unless we stop it."

"Which means we have to find the nest, and fast, before Sunnydale turns into the Trouble Meat Palace." Every head in the room turned to Buffy, faces blank at her joke. "I wish I'd said something else."

Xander stepped forward and sat down next to Sam. "Okay, so we track down the demon, find the nest, Mr. and Mrs. Finn here make with the killin', and everyone goes home happy. But seriously, married man. If forced to choose between a photographer and place settings..."

Buffy cut him, though. "We can't track the demon. I killed it." This time it was Ally's turn to grimace. "So! Who's hungry? We got, uh..."

"Ice cubes." Dawn supplied, making the other brunette Summers girl snort.

"All you can eat."

"I knew I was forgetting something. Sorry, Buff, I should have done the shopping this afternoon but Dawn and I got distracted skating." Ally apologised, but then her face brightened. "Well, we always have baby cereal."

"Do... do you live here?" Riley asked, once again trying to understand her current situation. There was so much he needed to know, he just had to ask whenever a new question popped into his mind.

"Yeah." She smiled widely, looking up at Dawn and Buffy, who smiled back.

Sam grinned at their exchange before focusing on the blonde, her face turning sincere. "Buffy? It's good that you killed the Suvolte before it killed us." And just as fast as she had turned to Buffy, she looked at Xander. "Disposable cameras."

"Di - wah?"

"Yeah, you, you know, little plastic ones, ten bucks a pop. You arrange them like table settings, guests snap photos breaks the ice, and when the wedding's over, you get to take home the pictures." While she talked, Riley had wrapped his free hand around her knee, Sam unconsciously intertwining their fingers.

Ally sighed happily at seeing this, leaning toward Riley as whispering in his ear so that no one else could hear what she said. "I like her. Good job. She's great."

He smirked at her while they both stared at the soldier-woman, Riley's other hand clasping around Ally's.

"I like it!

"So, demon eggs. Any timetable on when they're gonna hatch?" Buffy wondered, looking a bit put out by the trio on the couch.

"Hatching's not the problem." Riley answered, back to the ever-so-serious good soldier facade.

"We think they're gonna be sold on the black market. There are some foreign military powers that would love to have their own Suvolte. You could never train it, but drop it on an urban population..."

"And it cleanses the area."

"Is that a nice way of saying it kills people?" The teen grimaced again, wrapping her arms around her middle.

"Lots of 'em. Money's been exchanged. There's a dealer in town, calls himself the, The Doctor. Willow, you think you can help with a little locating spell?"

Ally tensed just as Willow averted her eyes. Touchy subject.

"I can't do the magicks."

"Oh, Riley says you're comin' on as one major-league Wicca."

Ally tried to shake her head lightly to make the couple understand, but they didn't even glance at her. Bad. Bad.

"I got addicted. The way addicts do." And with that, the redhead left the living room.

"Two teams. No civilians. I'll, uh ... I'll go out and look for our Doctor. You two find that nest." Soldier-boy decided, looking from Buffy to Sam and making Ally frown.

"Me and Sam together?"

"I'm not staying behind. I'm going too."

His protective side wasn't going to give up that easily. He had made a promise and had not been able to fulfil it until then. He couldn't just let her go knowing it could be dangerous. She was his baby girl. "Ally..."

"I'm a Slayer, Riley. Not a kid. I'm going." She fixed him with a firm glare, making him sigh and nod once. This was not the same Ally he knew four years before. She was grown up, more than he would have liked her to.

He agreed, squeezing the brunette's hand again before glancing at Buffy. "You come across a Suvolte nest, you're gonna want backup."

Sam didn't look so sure about the teams, though. "You know, I don't wanna be dragging down the Slayers. You've got speed, and power I can't even..."

The blonde cut her off before she could continue. "Let's go. Xander, are you okay to stay with Dawn?

He nodded, walking over to the teen. "Yeah."

"I'll check out some bars. Willy's, some, uh, crypts that I know. Ally, I want to talk to you for a minute." Riley shook his head toward the door and got up from the couch, dragging her behind.

* * *

Once they were both alone outside, he let go of her hand and crossed his arms over his chest.

She knew that stance. He was going to scold her for something. For wanting to go out to find those demon eggs, maybe? It was her duty. She wasn't going to be left behind.

"Riley, I am not going to stay here while..."

"I know. You're a Slayer, even if I don't like it. You're supposed to be there as much as Buffy."

That threw her off balance. If it wasn't that he was going to tell her off about, what was it?

Oh, no...

"Why are you here, Ally? Where have you been all these years? I was looking for you, the police was looking for you." His voice turned accusing, but never louder. He had that ability to never shout at her, never raise his voice. He could make her feel like a three year old just by changing his tone.

"L.A." She answered briefly, looking down at her feet and shifting uncomfortably. _Here it comes._ She knew what he was going to ask her about.

"How is it that no one find you?"

"I changed my last name, laid low for a while. I was careful. I didn't want to be found." She hugged herself, her eyes gazing around the front yard.

"Why?"

"I had things to do."

"Like what?" He snapped.

"Like fight evil. I was trained. Not like you trained me, with the army weapons and a few basic fighting techniques to spend some time and protect me from possible molesters. I was _really_ trained." She finally looked in his eyes, trying to transmit the intensity with which she felt her words. "Three hours every day, for two years. Extra hours I did by myself. I found out I was... skilled. A Potential, as they are called. I had a knack for slaying demons and vampires. I started truly slaying at sixteen. Been doing it ever since."

"Why? Why couldn't you come back? Do you know how worried I was? How devastated everyone was?" His body was awfully tense, his arms tight against his chest.

She flinched at his words. She knew she had hurt him. She knew she had made him suffer. "I needed to do it, Riley, and you would have never let me. No one I knew before would have ever let me. For God's sake, most people don't even know demons exist!" She could feel her control slipping. Her hands were moving on their own accord. "I couldn't not do it when I knew I could save someone from going through the same shit I went through. I saved people, Riley. I _save_ people. I couldn't save my family, but I sure as hell saved others."

It seemed his control had left him too, as his voice started rising with hers. "And what about the rest of your family, Ally? What about your brother?!"

Silence ensued. You could hear a pin drop. And the worst came when the door slowly opened, revealing everyone staring at them with wide eyes. Except for Sam.

"Your what?" Dawn blurted, eyes wide. Buffy was basically her reflection.

Ally just stared agape at the group, eyes stinging from guilt and fury from her previous rant. No one even moved, just observed. She could feel the shame, the fear of judgement. She'd felt if before, but it was dimmer. She never expected them to find out. Not like that, at least.

"They don't know?" Riley's voice dropped to a civilized tone. More like his usual self.

Her eyes slowly moved from her sisters to her old protector. She clenched her jaw and shook her head, tears welling up in her eyes. He had dropped the bomb, there was not hiding it anymore.

They knew.

"You have a brother?" Buffy inquired again, approaching her, still in shock.

Ally glanced at Riley again, knowing she wouldn't be capable of answering, opening her mouth and not bursting out in tears. He seemed to understand and left his previous anger aside to place one hand on the brunette's shoulder and stand by her side as he turned to look at the other Slayer.

"Maybe we should leave this until the mission is over. We have no time to waste."

Ally took this as her way out, steeling herself to mumble the sentence as quick as possible and leave. "I'll go ahead and check on a source." She spun on her heel and left as quick as possible.

Buffy knew who her source was, and she knew not to go there anytime soon.

* * *

He was at the top level of his crypt when she arrived. He was sitting on top of the tomb, reading, a few candles lit around the crypt. He immediately looked up when she opened the door, and left the book to jump off the tomb when he noticed her distraught condition.

God, she'd missed him. She hadn't seen him in a couple days.

"What's wrong, love?" He cupped her face and made her look at him, taking in her trembling lips and tear stained rosy cheeks. She'd been running. As soon as she was out of sight from the Summers house, she'd sprinted. His other hand fell to her waist, his thumb rubbing soothingly through her t-shirt.

"A... an old friend came. He..."

"Not that lawyer, is it?" He frowned, his hold on her waist tightening.

"No, not Lindsey." She closed her eyes and lightly shook her head. "From before. From before my parents..." She took a deep breath when her voice started trembling too. "Riley. He's Buffy's ex, apparently." She humourlessly snorted, her eyes opening again. "He dropped the bomb. They know now. You should know too."

"Know what?" He subconsciously pulled her closer to him, a slight growl to his voice.

He would find out anyway.

"I have a brother. And more family. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents... If they're still alive. I haven't seen them in six years. They probably think I'm dead." She exhaled when she was done, searching his eyes for a reaction.

His face relaxed, probably having been expecting something else, and she took it as her chance to relax. She dropped her forehead to his shoulder and wrapped her arms around his waist, breathing in his scent.

How she needed him.

"Why didn't you tell us, love?" He whispered against the crown of her head.

"Because I abandoned them. When my parents died, I hid. I was ashamed. I _am_ ashamed. I knew about vampires and demons, not too much, but I _knew_. When they attacked us... My dad didn't know what they were. He couldn't defend himself. I could, and didn't save them. So I hid and made everyone believe I was dead... or turned... or kidnapped. I didn't even call my family... And now they all know. You should have seen their faces..." Her voice was muffled by his t-shirt, but she knew he could hear her perfectly. Perks of having a vampire boyfriend.

"Don't really care what they think. You needed to take charge. To fight what killed your parents. You didn't want others to go through the same and they would've stopped you." She marvelled at how close to her own words he had been. "Think you did the right thing."

She held him tighter then, lifting her head to look at him directly.

How she loved him.

She moved one of her hands to the back of his neck and pushed him down to meet her lips, a low growl making his chest vibrate.

That was it. He was all she needed. And she was going to take it.

* * *

A couple hours later, the vampire and the Slayer were woken by the door opening with a bang. They were covered by not very thick blankets, lying on top of the tomb Spike had previously been sitting at, the bleach blond's arm around the girl's waist as she laid over the vampire's chest. He knew she didn't like the cold stone on her bare skin and preferred the feel of his own skin. She always ended up smiling softly when she was half-asleep, mumbling about how it got warm when in contact with hers. 

Sitting up quickly, Ally's eyes widened at seeing Riley and Buffy standing near the door, the former clutching the gun in his hands as he glared at the couple.

"Huh, Captain Cardboard's back in town." Spike leaned back on his forearms, glaring back at the soldier.

"Knew I should have gotten rid of you long ago." Riley shot back, taking a couple steps closer.

"Watch you words, Finn." Ally growled, holding a blanket to her chest. "Why did you bring him here, Buff?" She whined, jumping off the tomb to fetch her clothes.

"What do you think you are doing, Ally?" The soldier demanded to know, shooting daggers with his eyes. "He's a vampire, in case you haven't noticed."

"He's _my_ vampire." She snapped, freezing for a moment before pulling her underwear on.

"He's the same thing that killed your parents!" He countered, obviously forgetting the other people in the room.

"Also the same thing that saved me from being their next meal! Not all of them are bad, Finn." She quickly shrugged her jeans on and hid behind Spike as she pulled her t-shirt over her head.

"They're demons."

"My best friends in L.A. were demons. Don't be too quick to judge." She shot him a dry glare once she was fully dressed again.

"Don't be too quick to trust." He turned his eyes toward the vampire, cold and hard, like ice. "Doctor."

* * *

Time stopped as she turned toward her vampire, gauging his reaction. It couldn't be him. But when he glanced at her, even as he started denying Riley's accusations, she knew the soldier was right.

He was the Doctor.

Feeling lost and ready to hit something, Ally's gaze found her sister. She was looking back at her, unusually silent next to her ex. She hadn't uttered a word since they'd arrived.

Surprisingly, she was staring sympathetically back at Ally. She didn't look angry.

Realizing the men were still arguing and she hadn't been listening to what they were saying, Ally focused on her boyfriend and her oldest friend, one avoiding accusations while the other insisted on the vampire's secret identity.

And then she turned, walking towards the hole that led to the lower level. She didn't say anything, simply jumped down, noticing how the pair shut up when she disappeared.

"Ally?" She heard Riley follow her almost instantly, jumping right behind her with his expression much softer.

"There's nothin' to see down there!" Spike claimed from above, just as the junior Slayer and soldier walked through the tunnels she knew like the palm of her hand.

"We gotta find that nest." Riley reaffirmed as Buffy joined them, Spike not far behind.

And then she found them. Eggs -if you could call those deformed beach balls eggs- with scaly shapes and a disgusting reddish-grey colour, surrounded by a mucus like substance were all placed on the floor of the tunnel, carelessly sitting there. Waiting to hatch.

"I can explain." The vampire changed his plan when he saw they'd found them.

Riley, though, ignored him completely, keeping his gun raised as his voice got more and more troubled. "We're gonna need more weapons. Spike screwed up. You didn't keep 'em frozen, did you ... Doctor?"

The bleach blond still wasn't going to give up, his eyes intermittently passing over his girl, who just stared at the eggs emotionlessly. It worried him how impassive she was. She was never like that with him. Never. "You can stop calling me that any time. If I may, the thing of it is, I'm holding these for a friend, who..."

Ally raised her gaze and glared at him, a look he had never received, such venom was held in those eyes. "Shut up." She hissed, her hands turning into fists at her sides. "You better leave before I finally snap. We'll talk later."

He clenched his jaw, looking all the bit betrayed and hurt, as if he had any right to, before turning on his heel and storming out of the crypt.

She didn't even have time to really understand what was going on before sounds started to come from the eggs, warning the three people still in the tunnels that they were about to hatch.  Riley backed away, keeping his not-so-little girl by his side, Buffy slightly behind him. He passed his gun to the brunette, shooting her a brief glance. "You still remember our lessons?"

"Yeah. Still practice once in a while." She replied, keeping her voice stony, never betraying the situation as she grabbed hold of the gun while the man pulled a taser stick out.

She started shooting at the bugs crawling toward them, her aim much better than he remembered. Still, there were too many, they were going to be the baby Suvolte's next meal if they didn't hurry up. Riley grabbed her arm not too much later, coming to the same realization. "We have to pull out."

They ran upstairs, Buffy ahead of them and helping them to the top before taking Riley's belt from him and throwing the grenade down the hole, the blast shaking the ground around them as the soldier covered Ally with his own body.

Old habits die hard.

* * *

Not too much later, when they had gotten back to the Magic Shop, the Suvolte issue cleared, Ally took her chance to approach Sam, given Xander was basically bombarding her with questions about the wedding, and talk to her privately. Riley and Buffy were out talking too, that was her chance.

"I, uhm... I just wanted to... say, I'm really happy for you too. Well, you did steal my future husband," They both smirked at that, feeling a bit more comfortable. "but I think you two look great together, you make a great couple. You know, I'm probably one of the people hardest to please when it comes to Finn's romantic relationship, I thought I would never be happy with anyone he chose to be with, because I would always think he deserved better, but I'm really glad he's with you. And you made a great choice. He's the best." She placed a hand on Sam's arm, nodding at her to support her words.

"Thanks. It means a lot. You are really important for him, and... even with the... problems, the not so ideal situation... I can see he's ecstatic to see you again. If there was one thing I knew when I married him, was that he would never stop looking for you. It felt like I knew you." Her gaze softened even more and she paused to take a deep breath, some emotion seeping into her voice. "Miller and Rye are... they never let go of you. They never will."

Ally's eyes glistened even as she tried to smile at Mrs Finn, the older woman's hand resting on top of her shoulder in a silent attempt at comfort.

That was how the rest of the group found them when it was time to join Finn and Buffy outside.

"You have my email, you promise you'll keep in touch?" Sam checked with Willow, the witch nervously smiling at her.

"You won't get traced? I don't wanna lead the bad guys to your location by mistake."

The special agent couple smiled at each other before looking back at the redhead. "Our line's secure."

"Oh, huh, duh, of course it is! I keep thinking of you like regular people, but no, you're not."

"Oh, right, like demon-hunting is all exotic to a girl from Sunnydale." Mrs Finn said ironically, rolling her eyes. She had really hit it off with everyone there.

Dawn stopped right on front of Riley as the conversation went on, crossing her arms over her chest as she tried to remain impassive. "So you gonna say goodbye this time, or just ... split all secret-agenty like last time?"

"Depends. I warrant a hug?" He invited her and it didn't take her long to step into his arms, making Ally smile softly at the image. "Goodbye, Dawn."

"I thought it would suck less this time. It doesn't." She admitted.

They started to hear a helicopter approach, the army couple pushing everyone to one side of the street as they looked up towards the night sky. Ally wrapped an arm around Dawn as they stood behind Riley, his broad frame shielding them from the dust being lifted by the helicopter landing in the middle of the road.

The black shiny helicopter parked as if it wasn't in the middle of town, and Ally tried to glance over Riley's shoulder at it, Dawn doing the same from one side, the other covered by Sam.

"Buffy." Someone greeted from the helicopter, the familiar voice making Ally drop her arm from around her sister.

"Hey, Miller. We got a surprise for you." Sam announced, a smirk finding its way to her lips as Riley and her stepped aside at the same time, wearing similar expressions on their faces.

And there he was. Right next to the helicopter, clad in the same black gear the other two soldiers wore, looking a bit older and more serious than Ally remembered.

That is, until he saw her.

She didn't even give him time to realize she was there before she sprinted forward and jumped on top of him, sending him tumbling backwards. He stumbled a couple steps before finding his balance again, his arms wrapping around the girl hanging onto him like a monkey as if his life depended on it.

No one uttered a word for a couple minutes, giving the pair time to adjust, silence surrounding them until Graham leaned his head back to look at Ally's face, his eyes still wide in shock.

"It's really you?" He tried to verify.

"It's really me." She grinned, laying her head on his shoulder while he held her a bit tighter. "I missed you too, soldier-boy."

"Holy..." He dropped her and held her by her shoulders at arms length, giving him the opportunity to look her up and down. "You've grown."

"It happens when you give food, water and sunshine to a teenager." She joked, eyes mirthful.

"Holy..." He repeated, giving her another once over. "You look beautiful, doll."

"You don't look so bad yourself, Miller." She hugged him once again before she heard Riley approach, probably getting a bit nervous already.

"We should be leaving, Ally." He sounded regretful, his face mirroring it when she turned to look at him.

"Call me? Come back to visit? All of you." She fixed the three soldiers with a firm stare.

"I'll call soon. We still need to talk. About everything, including the vampire." Riley nodded. "I'll try to come back as soon as we get a break in our missions." He engulfed her in a bear-hug, squeezing tightly. "There's a lot we need to go over. "

"I know." She agreed before squeezing him back. "Take care of her, alright? She's one of a kind." The junior Slayer whispered, stepping back and looking at Sam while Riley approached the helicopter. The woman immediately embraced her too, Ally taking her time to get used to her before whispering again. "Take care of him, please. I need him back in one piece."

"I will. We'll get in contact soon."

And then it was only Graham left behind.

"Another one?" She invited him, stretching her arms out for him to move into them again. "Come back. Promise me."

"I promise, doll. Although I'm not completely sure this isn't a figment of my imagination." He sighed and rubbed her back as he used to so long before. "You make sure to stay alive until we come back, alright? Sunnydale is not exactly safe."

She chuckled, patting his back before letting go of him. "Tell Riley to inform you on what he knows about me now. You're in for quite a shock. Take care, soldier-boy." She smiled at him and stepped back, joining her friends and sisters on the side of the street to give the helicopter more space.

The three soldiers watched them as the aircraft took off, often glancing at Ally to find her staring back at them, barely blinking.

There went what was left of her childhood.

Her boys.

And then she remembered and ran forward a few feet, cupping her hands around her mouth to shout at the helicopter. "I need another back-up husband!" She yelled. Graham obviously understood, as he smirked boyishly before glancing at Riley.

"Yes, I do!" He screamed back, the other couple smiling at them. "Always knew it'd be you and me in the end, doll!"

* * *

Everyone was more or less quiet as they made their way back home. Xander had left to go back to his place with all the wedding guest that they were currently living with and Willow was a couple steps behind the brunettes, beside Buffy. Ally had been awfully silent since the helicopter had disappeared, and no one had tried to talk to her yet.

There was so much they had to talk about. Dawn knew that the thing about her brother had to be tackled soon, but maybe they should give her some time. After all, she had just said goodbye to people she held very close to her heart and her boyfriend had been the villain of the day.

She was so disappointed in Spike. How could he have done that? He had been pretty good since Ally came to town. Way to ruin it.

Dawn settled for throwing an arm around Ally the way the eldest often did with her and spoke in hushed tones so that it was a somewhat private conversation. "You okay?"

Ally looked at her and smiled softly, a gesture that didn't reach her eyes, before wrapping an arm around her baby sister. "Yeah. Just... confused. A lot has happened today."

"I know." The teen rested her head on the junior Slayer's shoulder, sympathising with her. "You know you can talk to me anytime, right?"

"Yeah. It's just... Wait till we get home. I'll tell you girls all about it. I'm sure you have a lot of questions." She glanced back at Buffy and Willow over her shoulder, and Dawn would have sworn she looked nervous and a bit afraid.

* * *

No sooner had they arrived home, Ally entered the living room, Dawn following her and gesturing for Buffy and Willow to do the same.

"Better get this over with now." The brunette Slayer announced, sitting down on one of the armchairs, the other three on the couch.

While Buffy, Will and Dawn exchanged nervous glances, Ally watched them. The teen was always supportive of her, but maybe this would be a bit of a stretch. It wasn't an easy subject.

Dawn, seeing the other two were as unsure as she was, decided to take the lead. "So... you have a brother?"

Ally nodded, her whole body tense as she opened her mouth to speak, but no sounds came out for a few seconds. Her eyes darted from one sister to the other, occasionally stopping on Will, before she gulped and shifted in her seat. "Yeah." She finally answered, twisting her hands in front of her. "He's three years older than me. I haven't seen him in six years, or the rest of my family for that matter."

"The rest? Who else is there?" Continued Buffy, genuinely interested.

"Five uncles, four aunts, two grandpas, one grandma, about... twelve cousins. And some more extended family. They... they don't even know I'm alive." Her voice broke, yet she managed to hold back the tears. "I left with my dad when I was thirteen to go to the military base where he would be working most of the time. I... I had an special education, and there was a man at the base who knew a lot about things I wanted to pursue later, so I decided to go with my dad when the opportunity arose." She breathed deeply and let her hands fall on her lap. "I met Riley there, on my second day. I liked him from the first moment, so I followed him everywhere when he was free. He didn't seem to be bothered, and instead started to teach me how to hold a gun, or how to defend myself in a basic fight. Graham and him became really protective of me, and so my dad trusted them to take care of me when he was away. It started to become a common thing, which he hadn't planned for, but I didn't want to leave the base. When I was fourteen, Riley took me to his grandparent's for Thanksgiving, because my dad was working across the country. So... I started to spend even more time with him. I didn't go back home for Christmas, or Easter Holidays, or summer. I stayed with Riley and Graham all along. Dad was busy too and couldn't go back except for once or twice. But then when I was fifteen, mom came to visit a few days before dad's birthday. We went on a little family trip, stayed in L.A. for a few days. By then, Riley had told me about this super secret special program they were being trained for."

"The Initiative." Buffy supplied, nodding in understanding, her face dark in concern. All three girls on the couch knew Ally's story was about to reach its turning point.

"Yeah." Ally met her eyes before staring at the floor again. "So... one evening, I asked my parents to take me to the movies to watch Starship Troopers. We were on our way to the theatre when we were attacked. It was dark and my parents... they-they never realized our attackers weren't human. Lucky me, I caught a... glimpse of their faces and... recognized them from how Riley had described them. He had told me how to kill those, in-in case I e-ever encountered one... I was lucky some were noobs, and managed to kill a couple before a... man saved me. He took me away from there..." She was trembling by that point and Dawn couldn't stand to just sit so far from her. She got up and sat on the arm of Ally's seat, wrapping an arm around her sister's shoulders. "I was in shock at first. I... I could have saved them. I-I could have told them what the vampires were, I could have... could have told them to grab a stick and shove it in the attackers' chest... but I was fre-freaking out and didn't do shit for them." Tears started streaming down her face, Dawn's free hand clutching both of hers. She looked up to her baby sister for a moment and waited a couple seconds until she had somewhat calmed down. "When I finally got my shit together, I begged the man who saved me and gave me shelter for a few days to train me. He refused at first, but I didn't really give him a choice. Either he trained me and prepare me to fight vampires, or I was gonna go find vampires by myself and try to kill them with basic self-defence skills. I never called home. I never let anyone from my old life know I was alive. I couldn't go home and pretend vampires didn't exist. Everyone would think I was crazy and it was the trauma making me go mad. And I was ashamed. I couldn't save my parents, even when I knew how to. I couldn't face my family. I changed my last name, trained for hours on end, started slaying. Four years later, here I am." She exhaled and slumped on Dawn's side, her head resting on the teen's shoulder.

"How come your brother wasn't with you?" Willow asked softly, not wanting to upset the brunette anymore.

"He... he wasn't really academically skilled and could barely speak any English. He was in the middle of his exams when mom got the free days, but he couldn't afford to miss school. Still, we were supposed to finally go back home for Christmas, it was only a couple months away..." She sighed and straightened a bit again. "Any more questions? I know today must have been really confusing for all of you."

"First girl Riley ever took home?" Dawn smirked, trying to get her to relax.

Ally started laughing, some of the tears managing to escape her eyes again. "Thanksgiving. His grandma and aunt wouldn't stop teasing him about how the first girl he ever introduced to his family and taken home for a holiday was a fourteen year old kid."

They all giggled at this, imagining Riley with his cheeks bright red all evening. And apparently, it was still going on.

The tension slowly left Ally's body, Dawn noticed right away, and eventually suggested they should go to bed. Everyone was exhausted.

But Buffy wanted to take a walk first. Probably to clear her head, to stake a couple vampires in the graveyard and sleep like a baby afterwards.

As Dawn and Willow went upstairs and Buffy shrugged her jacket on, Ally approached her. "Hey, Buff? Are you gonna go near Spike's crypt?" The blonde frowned lightly but nodded, grabbing a stake and standing by the door. "Just... if you see him, tell him I'll go tomorrow at sunset. That we need to talk. Please."

"You sure?" It wasn't like Ally to leave it for another day, but Buffy could understand it had been an extremely difficult day for her sister. Heck, it had been a difficult day for her, but old friends, family issues and lying boyfriend all in a day? Ally won. "Can I punch him at least?"

"No." The brunette ground out before softening her features again. "Goodnight, Buff."

"Goodnight, Alls." Buffy smiled, walking out the door as the junior Slayer went to bed.

* * *

When Dawn heard the phone ring the following afternoon, she would have never expected the turn things were about to take.

Ally ran across the living room to get the phone, the two brunettes and Willow the only ones at home right then. Willow was in her room while Dawn was in the basement taking the laundry out. It had been a relatively calm day, Buffy was working and everything was more or less... normal.

Until the teen went upstairs and heard the sobs coming from the kitchen. It was Ally. Ally was crying.

She hurried and stood by the doorway, watching her sister's back shake as she talked into the phone. "...but how? He... he's my age... he can't... I can't... But... they're there... Everyone will be there... I know... Riley, I can't... I know..."

She was barely getting snippets of the conversation, Ally's words were too broken and the topic of the conversation was unknown to her.

"Here?" The junior Slayer suddenly asked, her voice weak. "Two hours? But I... No." Her tone finally got stable, the shaking lessened and one arm went around her stomach. "Alright. Yeah... Yeah, it's time. Yes. I will. Bye."

And she hung up. Dawn was just frozen, unable to understand what had just happened. It was Riley on the phone, and he had clearly told Ally something that had really upset her.

"Ally? Are you okay? What's going on?" The teen made her presence known, startling the young Slayer, who turned around with a tear streaked face before leaning back against the wall and sliding down to the floor. "Ally." The teen ran to her sister, crouching down beside her and cupping her cheeks. "Ally, tell me what's wrong."

The eldest brunette's gaze was lost for a few seconds, then she fixed it on her baby sister. Her expression was blank. She was too affected. Whatever Riley had told her had overwhelmed her.

"I have to go. I have to go back. I have to pack a bag." She started informing Dawn in a monotone, like a machine answering what it was programmed to. "They're picking me up in two hours."

"Go? Go where?" She was leaving? Dawn didn't want her to go. She was her sister. The teen knew Ally had another family, but she was _her_ sister, as selfish as it sounded.

"Home."

"Why? What's going on, Ally?"

"He's dead. I will never see him again. It's my last chance to say goodbye."

Dawn got quiet. Someone was dead. Was it her brother? No, she'd said something about _him_ being her same age, hadn't she? Maybe a cousin. Or a friend. Whoever he was, he was dead and it had greatly upset Ally. He must have been important for her.

She had to go back.

"I'll help you pack. But you have to promise to come back soon. I can't lose my sister." Dawn said softly as she held Ally's hands and helped her stand up and move to their room.

* * *

Everything had been rushed. They'd barely had time to pack and tell Willow the news so she could call Buffy to work and gather every other Scooby to see Ally off. An army helicopter was coming to pick her up and take her to a military airport, where she would get on a plane home. Riley must have asked for a few favours to get her home in time for the funeral.

 And so, after saying goodbye to her sister, Dawn decided to be the one to go tell Spike about Ally leaving, and give him a piece of her mind at the same time.

She found the vampire pacing around his now destroyed home. Everything was carbonized on the lowest level, even around the hole to the crypt. He was moving things that looked just lightly charred to the upper level, probably trying to save something. When he heard her enter he looked up and frowned. He hadn't been expecting her.

Dawn crossed her arms across her chest and glowered, trying to make him understand how bad his situation was right then.

"Oh, bloody hell, you're gonna lecture me, Nibblet?" He groaned, straightening a bit before leaning back against the tomb.

"Yes, and you're gonna listen to every single word." She seethed. Stepping forward, she approached the vampire as authoritatively as she could. "What were you thinking? How could you do that?" He rolled his eyes, trying to act nonchalant, only making the teen angrier. "She trusted you! You were good for so long..."

"Vampire. I'm evil." He reminded her, yet she went on as if he had never spoken.

"... and then you go and pull something like this? Do you have any idea how much you've hurt Ally? She trusted you! She was trying to make the rest of them accept you!"

"Don't need a bunch of idiots to like me..."

"And you betrayed her trust!" She cut him again. She had gotten closer still, poking his chest with one finger. It looked like the message was finally getting to him. "How could you do that? Why would you do something like that?!"

"Needed the money." He finally admitted, averting his eyes.

"What for? You steal whatever you need to!"

He clenched his jaw, shifting uncomfortably. "For Ally." He ground out, getting irritated and the screaming.

"She doesn't need money!"

"I needed it to buy something for her!" He finally snapped, throwing his arms out on his sides and getting away from the tomb, the teen taking a step back from the sudden reaction.

"What the hell would you need that much money for? They said it was a lot, black market stuff, really dangerous." She inquired, confused at his admission.

He huffed and started pacing, eventually settling for sitting on the edge of his armchair. He brought his hands to his head, treading his fingers through his hair. "You have to promise not to tell her, even though it doesn't matter anymore, I guess. She'll be too angry anyway." He asked her, his expression a mix of sadness and desperation. At seeing the teen nod, he continued. "I'd hoped she'd never find out about the eggs. She wasn't supposed to. It should have been over fairly quickly. If that bloody soldier hadn't been here, it would have been fine. Just needed to do it once. Make the deal, get paid, and it'd be over. I wanted to buy the Kusanagi for her."

Dawn wasn't sure she'd heard right. She tilted her heard and furrowed her brows. "The what?

"It's a legendary sword. Caught wind of it being sold for a high prize by a half-demon dealer. She doesn't like jewels so... I needed something... special when I..." He glanced at her and huffed again, shaking his head lightly. "When I asked for her hand."

Dawn's breath hitched, her lungs not getting any oxygen for almost half a minute. Spike was watching her reaction, his face oddly vulnerable.

He was going to propose and he wanted to buy Ally a fucking legendary sword for the occasion.

_Oh, god._

"Shocking, huh, Nibblet?" He arched a brow, still hunched over in the armchair.

She'd said that out loud. She hadn't meant to, but _fuck_! She was shocked.

"Guess she's angry, then... If she sent you..."

"She didn't send me." The teen corrected him. Getting ready to crush him. She didn't really want to, specially not after what he'd said. "I came because she can't. She left."

As if the air had been knocked right out of him, the vampire paled even more that it was usual, his eyes wide and his lips parted in surprise. It couldn't be true. The Nibblet must be wrong.

"She went back home."

Not even waiting for the teen to explain anymore, the vampire rose from his seat and left the crypt, lucky that the sun had just set. His stride was long a steady, his footsteps heavy.

He didn't look back. He didn't take anything. He just knew, Ally wasn't in town anymore, and if she did come back, he didn't want her to find him and remember the last time they'd seen each other. The Little Bit was right. He had betrayed her trust.

He needed to do something that would make him deserving of her once more. He'd fucked up, but he wasn't going to let it happen anymore.

She deserved better. She deserved more than he was right then. More than he could be if he stayed in Sunnydale.


	17. Chapter 17

She was tired by the time she made it to the front door of the Summers house. It was barely sunrise, her bag was heavy -although it wasn't at the beginning of the journey back, so she supposed it was because of the exhaustion-, she felt like dropping dead on her bed and just as anxious about seeing _them_.

Her sisters. She hadn't seen or talked to them in almost three months. She had missed them so much...

She slowly opened the front door and walked inside, careful not to make too much noise and wake every living soul in the house. It looked like no one was up yet, at least. Tiptoeing upstairs, she managed not to make a sound as she approached her shared room, the door slightly ajar, her sleeping baby sister inside.

She smiled. Wide and brightly, _really_ smiled. Her Dawnie. Her little teenage angst filled sister. She'd changed her hair, got a few highlights, but she was still her Dawnie.

Ally got closer to the bed, let her bag as quietly as possible on one side and looked at the alarm clock on the sleeping girl's bedside table. 6:48 am. She should probably allow her to sleep some more.

It didn't go as planned.

As soon as Ally had stepped back from the bed to start unpacking her bag, Dawn stirred, making the eldest of the two pause in her task. As the teen stopped moving and slightly opened her eyes, apparently searching for the alarm clock to know how much time she had left to sleep, she caught a glimpse of something standing near the edge of her bed and looked over, eyes a bit more open.

Needless to say, it didn't take her more than five seconds to realize who it was and jump from bed.

If only she got up that fast when she had to go to school.

Dawn basically tackled the junior Slayer, who was thankful for the Slayer powers as the teen didn't even realize how much force she had put into it, too excited to have a clear thought.

"Oh, God, you're back!" She squealed, hopping as she hugged the eldest brunette, who couldn't hold back a smile as she embraced the teen back.

"I'm back." She reaffirmed softly, closing her eyes in content.

Then the sound of a stampede came from the corridor, right before Buffy turned up at the door, looking agitated and ready for battle. "Dawn, what's...?" She stopped mid-sentence, taking in the image of both her baby sisters hugging in the middle of the room, and froze. It was only a few seconds, enough to make Ally smirk at her expression before Buffy came forward and hugged her too.

Buffy made the best impersonation of a boa constrictor that Ally had ever been victim to. She couldn't say she was unfazed thanks to her Slayer powers anymore, that excuse flew out the window the moment the senior Chosen One saw her.

"Woah, I see you missed me, Buff. More like... I feel it." She chuckled, rubbing the blonde's back and relaxing into her sisters' embrace. They were both hugging her right then.

It felt good. It felt so good to be back.

A couple minutes later, when it looked like the Summers girls had had enough hugging for the moment, they stepped back and watched each other, smiles breaking into their faces. "How are you, Alls?" Buffy asked, looking her up and down.

"Great. I missed you girls and everyone in the Scooby Gang. Heck, I'm sure Mr. and Mrs. Harris will have been too busy in their honeymoon phase but..."

"They didn't get married." Dawn corrected her before she continued, her face falling a bit. "Xander left Anya at the altar. Now Anya's a vengeance demon again, but... she's still Anya, if you know what I mean? She's not like she was before she lost her powers the first time. She's more... human."

"Holy shit."

"Yeah. We... should go down, have breakfast. Have you eaten?" Buffy asked, trying to divert the direction the conversation was taking before dropping the biggest news. She wanted Ally to calm down, settle a bit. It was going to be upsetting enough as it was.

"No, I'm starving, really. Airplane food is gross." The junior Slayer brightened considerably, although the idea of Xander leaving Anya at the altar was incomprehensible for her. He loved her. Why would he do that?

Indeed. Why would a man that loved a woman so much betray her like that?

Even though she was disappointed in Spike -disappointed, not really angry. Yet she didn't know which was worse. -, she had missed him to the point of dreaming about him in everyday situations, like watching TV in his crypt, or just walking around the graveyard. She missed him, every part of him, but what she missed the most was the fact that she could always go to him when she felt like it, be it night or day, and simply enjoy his company.

The disappointment hadn't erased that. The distance hadn't stopped her from loving him. In any case, it had made her more conscious of her feelings towards him. And disappointment was a minuscule part in comparison to the other emotions filling her heart and making her fear it might burst.

She couldn't wait to go visit him. What had he been doing all those months? That's what she feared, the possibility that he might have forgotten her. That he might have gotten over her.

She was terrified and anxious, yet so excited about seeing him again.

The three sisters made their way down the stairs, Ally only halting on her way to look up and make the question that Buffy and Dawn feared she would make. "Can I go wake Willow up? I wanna see her face when she notices I'm back." She smirked, glancing toward her sisters to see them exchange a concerned look. "What is it?"

Buffy bit her lower lip and averted her eyes, Dawn gulping and fiddling with her hands at the same time.

Something was wrong.

Ally ran upstairs, dreading what she would find, Buffy's shouts for her to stop only making her more scared. If she was screaming, it meant Willow was not asleep.

When the brunette arrived at the doorway to what was previously Joyce's room, she paused.

It was empty.

She spun on her heel when she heard her sisters approach, her face twisted in concern. "Where's Willow? Is she alright? Is she alive?"

"She's alive." Buffy immediately confirmed, watching as Ally's shoulders relaxed a bit, relieved. "But... a lot of things happened. Let's go downstairs and sit down. It's... a lot to take in."

Needless to say, Ally was scared shitless by the time they all started having breakfast. The blonde was trying to make her eat something before she started to explain what had happened while she was gone, but the knots in Ally's stomach were making it hard. And she wasn't the kind to refuse food, she had a great appetite that could surpass that of a six feet four man. 

When she pushed her empty bowl of cereal away from her, Buffy nodded and seemed to be preparing herself for the talk. "Well, you already know the part about Xander and Anya. Anya is still running the Magic Box, too. Then... Tara and Willow got back together. They were so happy... We found out about Warren and the other nerds planning to rob a van full of money using some... orbs that gave Warren superpowers. I stopped him and got Andrew and Jonathan into police custody, but Warren escaped. He was angry, and he came here, with a gun, shot me, and by... accident, he killed Tara." She paused, keeping an eye on Ally in case she got more upset. She had left because someone she cared about had died, and the story wasn't going to get much better. When the brunette's hands flew to her mouth, it was Dawn who wrapped an arm around her shoulders and rubbed the junior Slayer's arms, trying to comfort her. "That's not all." The eldest continued. "Willow was torn. She got... out of control. She started using magic for vengeance. She went after Warren with magic that surpassed anything she had done before, she sucked the magic from the books from the dark section of the Magic Box, and killed him. She tortured him. And then she went after Andrew and Jonathan."

"Oh, god." Ally sobbed, subconsciously leaning against Dawn.

"We tried to stop her, get Andrew and Jonathan away from her, but when she ran out of her magic she resorted to stealing it from Rack. She killed him too. We fought, Giles came to try to stop her too, but she beat him, and me.... Xander and Dawn were helping the other two nerds hide from her, but it wasn't enough. And in the end, she tried to destroy the world. Xander stopped her. She's now in England with Giles in a Wicca rehab program of some kind."

"She's... better now, we've heard. Andrew and Jonathan went who-knows-where and Xander is doing great in his job. He leads the crew building what's left of the new Sunnydale High. Which, as scary as it sounds knowing how it was when Buffy went there, I will be attending from tomorrow on. Anya is... still doing her own thing."

"Tara..." The junior Slayer couldn't believe her own ears. It couldn't be. Why?

"I know." Dawn murmured before bringing her into another hug, this one less excited and much more supportive. "At least, it was quick and painless."

Buffy walked around the kitchen counter and rubbed her back softly as she cried, her face soft and loving, Dawn's own similar to the blonde's.

How she'd missed her sisters.

She eventually calmed down, although her eyes still glistened and were red, but she could breathe more or less normally again.

"I'm so sorry I wasn't here." She apologized, surprising the other two, who would have never thought of making her feel guilty about it. "I'm so sorry."

"You had other problems. We understand. We missed you, but you had to go. It's fine." Buffy cupped her cheek, smiling softly. "How was it back home, anyway?"

"Hard at the beginning. And the middle. And the end." She sighed, slumping back against Dawn, who happily accepted the weight of her sister. "It was my fault, really. I mean, I hadn't even called once, they all thought I was dead, and then to suddenly turn up at the funeral where all my old friends were... A couple of them fainted, my brother went apeshit crazy, my aunt freaked out, my uncle was pale as a ghost and didn't speak for hours and my cousins and aunts and uncles had to tell my grandparents before I went to see them so they didn't have a heart attack. But then... you know, there were hugs, and tears, and more tears, and I was yelled at, and there were family gatherings, and some happy things too. But it was hard. Things were... very different from what I remembered. I felt like a stranger. I didn't belong there. I belong here."

"Who died?" Dawn asked quietly so as not to upset her further.

"And old friend. We... had known each other almost all out lives before I left." Her voice got quieter, lost in thought, in memories. "He was one of my dearest friends back then. His mom and mine knew each other, he was really smart and we often talked. He didn't make me feel strange for... you know, the special education needs. Apparently, they found out he had cancer a couple years ago. Riley... he had just called my brother after he left here to... you know, know how he was doing, keep in touch, so he could tell him he found me when... my brother told him about my friend. Riley knew I was going to go back when I found out. Guess it was a good excuse to push me to contact them again." She closed her eyes and breathed deeply, sighing again. "I missed you two so much. You have no idea."

"We do. We missed you too. Dawn was going crazy, she has a lot of things to tell you." Buffy smirked, Dawn's face brightening as she remembered something.

"I'm going to start training!" She announced, happy and bubbly just like Ally remembered her.

"What?" Ally straightened in her stool as once, glancing from one sister to the other to make sure she'd heard right.

"Yeah. Dawn showed me she's... very capable of becoming a good Potential." Buffy admitted.

"Of course. I have not one but _two_ Slayer sisters. Who else can say that?" She grinned, looking proud of herself.

"Oh, god, finally!" Ally jumped from her seat and hugged the teen again, hopping in place. "You're gonna be kicking ass soon, Dawnie!"

They all laughed, a little bit of joy lessening the despair that had filled the kitchen mere minutes earlier. Things were always easier to handle when they were together.

However, Ally still missed something. More like she missed the mention of someone. A very important someone.

"Uh... and... how's Spike?" She asked once she let Dawn breath, her face slightly flushed still.

Both girls fell silent.

No.

"Girls?" Her voice got weak. Not him. He had to be alright.

"He left." Dawn revealed, gaze set on her own feet. "Right after you did. No one has seen him or heard of him yet."

Not Spike. Not her vampire. He couldn't be gone.

* * *

He was really gone. Clem had occupied his crypt since he'd left, and if Clem didn't know anything about him, it meant he hadn't come back yet.

Would he ever?

After checking to make sure he wasn't there, Ally focused all her thoughts on training Dawn, alongside Buffy, and forget everything until she was in a state of mind that allowed her to decide on what to do about it. She was definitely not there, not after everything her sisters had told her that same morning.

And then, it was Dawn's well-being in high school that kept her mind busy. From what Buffy had told her, it was completely possible for the high school to turn into a huge monster and try to eat Dawn. Anything could happen in there.

Anything.

Both eldest Summers girls decided to accompany Dawn, just to make sure everything was safe and nothing was trying to kill their sister on her first day. And also to familiarize themselves with the new high school. Buffy had spent three years in the old high school, on those same grounds, so it was a bit of a trip down memory lane for her, while for Ally, it was a chance to imagine how it would have been to attend high school like a normal kid, instead of finishing her basic education in a military base where she was the only kid.

But she wouldn't change her time with Riley and Graham for anything in the world. She would never forget her boys.

"Now, remember, if you see anything strange... or, you know...dead." Buffy started to warn Dawn, although Ally had to hold back a laugh when she compared Buffy's speech to one any other big sister or mother would give their teenage relative on their first day in high school.

"I got it." Dawn assured them, already dreading the rest of Buffy's advice.

"And stay away from hyena people, or any lizard-type athletes, you know, or if you see anyone that's invisible."

The eldest brunette chuckled at that, getting a fake death glare from the blonde in return.

"Hey, Buffy, I think it's pretty safe to say I'm not going to see anybody that's invisible." Dawn smirked, sharing an amused look with Ally.

"You know, you could still drop out. Only nerds finish high school." The blonde insisted.

"Buffy!" The junior Slayer gasped, her nerdy side getting into the defensive.

"You know, I don't really think it's fair for you to try and scare me on my first day of high school. 'Cause it is so redundant."

The eldest still scowled. "The place is evil."

"Tough to let 'em go, huh?" Someone said from behind them, all three of them turning at once.

Buffy took the lead, although she looked a bit confused at the sudden interruption. "Hi."

A tall dark skinned man was standing before them, hand outstretched in front of him. "I'm Robin Wood. New principal."

"Oh, uh, Buffy Summers. This is Ally, and Dawn."

"Nice to meet you."

"Hi." Both brunettes said in unison.

"So you're the new principal. I expected you to be more... aged."

He lightly smiled, glancing from one girl to the others. "Huh. You seem a bit young to have such grown-up daughters."

Both young girls burst into laughter, Ally trying to muffle the sounds with Dawn's shoulder and failing miserably. Buffy was going to have a fit later.

"Oh. Uh, uh, no. Sister." Buffy corrected as she pinched Ally's arm.

"Oh," He looked ready for the ground to open and swallow him, trying to fix his mistake as soon as possible. "right, um, of course."

"You didn't really think they're my..." Buffy chuckled awkwardly, her hand flying to her head. "it's my hair. I have mom hair." She turned toward her sisters, looking for reassurance.

"No..." Dawn assured her, way more merciful than Ally, who was still trying to stop laughing.

"I actually have heard of you, Miss Summers. Graduated from the old high school, am I right? But I didn't know we had another two Summers girls attending this year." He was nice, definitely not the scary kind of principal. Or maybe it was just a façade.

"I'm not a student." Ally rectified, yet couldn't help but frown. Why did he know about Buffy?

It seemed the blonde was thinking the same. "Uh, yeah. How did you...?"

"Well, I better get back to work. Gotta start deadening young minds. It's really nice to meet you. You have fun."

Once he was far enough, Buffy quietly muttered her impression. "That was suspicious."

"More like creepy." Ally supplied, watching the man with a frown, Dawn's hand in hers. Anytime something remotely dangerous or suspicious got near Dawn, her overprotective sister side took over, needing to physically know Dawn was alright at all times.

The teen wasn't feeling as concerned, though, as she escaped Ally's grip and walked backwards toward the entrance. "You betcha. Bye."

"Oh, Dawn..." Buffy started again.

"I know! You never know what's coming. The stake is not the power. To Serve Man is a cookbook. I love you. Go away." She shooed them, flicking her arms toward them.

"She used to hug me until the bell rang, and then I'd have to push her inside." Ally pouted, watching Dawn walk away while she leaned her head onto Buffy's shoulder. "She's growing up so fast."

"Tell me about it."

* * *

Both eldest sisters walked inside the building after Dawn was gone, soon splitting up to get to know different areas of the center where their baby sister was more than likely going to face danger in the following years.

Not surprisingly, Ally ended up in the new library, checking the book collection, row after row, getting herself lost in a world of her own.

She had just gotten out of the library when she heard Buffy scream and saw her barging into Dawn's classroom.

What was going on? Already in danger? Not even an hour had passed!

Just as she hurried near the classroom, she caught on Buffy's excuse for interrupting the class and probably embarrassing Dawn on her first day. "I just thought you were, um, in danger... of smoking." 

Ally rolled her eyes and stepped into the classroom after her big sister. "Uh, sorry. I... kinda made her believe I'd seen someone give Dawn weed. It was just a joke, but I should've known she'd overreact. Sorry." Ally smiled sheepishly at the teacher and students, who were all staring at them, and apologized to Dawn with her eyes, grabbing Buffy's arm and dragging her out of the room.

"I also have two sisters." They heard Dawn add not too happily to her introduction before they closed the door to the classroom.

* * *

After talking to Xander about some kind of zombie situation Buffy had experienced in the restroom, they split again, both of the girls looking for anything that could indicate why there were zombies in high school and help them get rid of them.

Not an hour had gone by before her new mobile phone was ringing, Dawn's name displayed on the screen.

Trouble.

"Dawn? Are you alright?"

" _Yeah, for now, but there's... dead people here. I'm in the basement with another two students. It's zombies, Ally! They're after us!_ " Her baby sister's frightened voice informed her, sending her heartbeat right up.

"I'll be right there. Hang on there. Don't let them come near you!"

She'd seen the door to the basement at some point. She knew she had. She only had to run back the way she'd come and find it before the first threat of the school year got Dawnie.

Not two minutes after the call, she found the white door leading down to the basement, poorly lit and built like a concrete maze.

The junior Slayer walked briskly through the labyrinth, her heart pounding hard against her ribcage as fear for Dawn's well-being filled her. It'd been a while since she had been that worried. Three months away had almost made her forget what it was like.

She called for Dawn, yet received no answer. Everything looked the same to her, a box here, a pipe there. However, she felt a pull within herself, like a sixth sense leading her through the corridors. She hoped it was leading her toward her sister and not getting her even more lost. She couldn't really tell if she was walking in circles, at least, until she came across a metal door she was sure she'd never seen before. A metal door that seemed to be calling her.

Something was in there.

Would it be zombies or her sister? Or both?

She tried to open the door, but it was tightly locked, probably from the inside. That meant her theory was true, right? There was someone in there. She pulled once again, not caring if she broke the door, even if it was going to be hard to do despite the Slayer strength.

"Dawn?" She called again, trying to let her sister know it wasn't zombies trying to get in if she was in there.

When she huffed and let go of the metal handle, thinking of some other way to break it open, there was a loud clicking sound. The door had been unlocked.

Nothing could have prepared her for it.

Her heart leaped from her chest, her throat constricted and her breath hitched, a silent gasp barely escaping her lips when she saw him.

Her vampire.

He looked different from what she remembered. His hair was longer and no more his trademark bleach blond. It was curly and messed instead of combed back, and he was only wearing dark pants, boots and an open black shirt, wrinkly and disheveled.

Yet it was his face that made her question if he was even the same Spike she'd known and not a doppelganger. He looked somber, not happy at all to see her. He didn't even look frustrated, or angry. It was something else, something dark and sad. Broken.

"Spike..."

She didn't even realize she had stepped forward, unconsciously getting closer to him, to everything she had missed. He was there. He was back.

Her eyes were staring right into his, hence she didn't notice his hand coming up until it softly cupped her cheek. She immediately leaned into it, bringing her own hand to cover his and hold it in place, that chaste touch more meaningful than anything she could ever imagine. She would have closed her eyes if she hadn't been terrified that he'd disappear when she did, that he was only a hallucination or a trick.

Three months. Three months she'd gone without his touch, his voice whispering tenderly to her, his embrace, his loving looks. Three months she'd been without him.

"Ally." He replied, his soft voice sending shivers down her spine.

"Are you real?"

He started laughing, a hysterical and broken sound that made her frown. Suddenly, the laughter stopped, his expression changed and it morphed into one of tenderness.

Copying his previous movements and needing to confirm he was really there, she brought her own hand to his face, her thumb caressing his cheekbone as a sigh escaped his lips. He stepped backwards, further into the room that had previously been locked, and she followed after him, making sure to close the door in case the zombies got to him. He looked tired and she was not risking his life -or unlife- right after she had found him again.

And then she remembered and cursed herself in her mind. Dawn was down there too. In danger.

"Spike, have you seen Dawn? She came down here with some kids." Ally asked quietly, his strange behaviour making her chest hurt in concern.

Her carefulness wasn't enough, apparently, as he started yelling out of the blue. "Don't you think I'm trying? I'm not fast. I'm not a quick study." His voice started trembling and his eyes glistened, his face once more broken. "I dropped my board in the water and the chalk all ran. Sure to be caned." He laughed, backing away from her, his gaze lost. "Should've seen that coming."

Ally approached him once more, slowly but surely, tears welling up in her eyes at finding him in that state. "What happened to you?" She wondered out loud, pretty sure he wasn't going to answer. The brunette ran the back of her index finger from his temple to his jaw, this time getting him to close his eyes at the touch. She used that opportunity to look him over, yet her eyes didn't make it very far, stopping right on his chest, where his shirt revealed a few scratches. She pushed the shirt aside, more wounds appearing before her eyes, all of them over where his heart should be. "What did you do?"

To her surprise, he actually answered. "I tried... I... tried to cut it out."

She blinked back the tears as she once again met his eyes, her hand softly resting over the deep scratches in his chest so as not to hurt him. "You can't do that." She whispered, her voice low with emotion as his baby blues stared at her intensely. "It's mine."

The moment was lost when her phone started ringing again. It was Dawn. Dammit, she'd almost forgotten about her.

She was somewhere with a furnace. She needed to find her. Where was Buffy, anyway? Surely Dawn would have called her too.

"Uh, Spike?" She turned to him once again after the call ended. "Do you know where the furnace is? Dawn's in danger."

He answered distractedly, looking around the room, lost in his own world. "Left."

"Thanks." She started to head toward the door, but came back immediately and softly  kissed him, feeling like he would break if she applied any more pressure. "I'll come back soon, alright? Don't you dare hurt yourself anymore." With one last caress to his cheek, she sprinted away, heading left.

She knew he was in no way ready to get in a fight. He was not in his right mind. Something horrible had happened to him, and guilt was eating her insides. He was like that because she'd left.

It wasn't long before she heard a fight in the distance, drawing her in the right direction. Right on the last corner, when the sounds got even louder, she came face to face with Buffy, Slayer face on.

Time to fulfill their duty.

The little space Dawn and the other teens were in was soon silenced as the Slayers barged in, the manifest spirits turning to face them as the bigger threat. One of them, an old man in a janitor suit, was grabbing their baby sister by the hair, the teen sprawled on the floor with a pained expression on her face.

He was going to get what was coming for him.

Buffy dodged a blow from the zombie teen boy and rolled next to Dawn, kicking the janitor away from her. Meanwhile, Ally beat the teen boy, taking the metal bar he was swinging and hitting him with it. She backed until she stood next to her sisters, standing guard above them.

"Thanks, sis'." Dawn breathed, looking at them with wide eyes. That was a close call.

"We just need to keep them at bay." Buffy informed them. Obviously, she had some kind of plan already.

No sooner had the blonde spoken the three angry spirits attacked them, the Slayers trying to keep them away from the teenagers on the corner. Buffy used a purse filled with bricks as a weapon, throwing it out against the zombies while Ally swung the metal bar, yet it seemed like their opponents were barely affected. They kept getting up and attacking again. Was it ever gonna end?

And then the girl disappeared, leaving the janitor and teen boy to fight both Slayers. Something was going on, something had made her leave.

As the remaining zombies advanced on the sisters, they turned into a pile of yellowish smoke, vanishing right in front of them.

It was over.

* * *

As they got the teens back to the somewhat safe corridors of Sunnydale High, Ally couldn't help but think she had to go back down there. He was there. Her vampire. Yet something held her back from running down to the basement or telling her sisters about him. Something was wrong with him, and she wanted to figure out what it was before telling anything about him.

"You guys are gonna be OK. School is intense, but you'll do all right as long as you're careful. And you might want to think about sticking together." Buffy advised the teens, trying to make them calm down after their little adventure.

The shy girl in dark clothes, Kit, smiled at the eldest Summers girls. "Thank you."

She hugged them both before stepping back and letting the boy, Carlos, pat them on their shoulders, finally staring at Buffy with a thankful smile. "Yeah, I mean it. You are the coolest mom and sister ever."

Ally snickered while Dawn tried to save Buffy from further embarrassment, hugging them quickly and planting a tender kiss on their cheeks. "OK. Come on, we still have a few more classes to live through."

As they watched the teens go to class, Ally's eyes unconsciously drifted in the direction of the door to the basement, her stomach doing somersaults as she thought of going back to her beloved vampire. He needed help. She couldn't just leave him there, nor did she want to.

"Uh, Buff, I think I'll head to the library, make a list of books that should help Dawn this year. I'll see you back home later." She pecked the blonde's cheek quickly and started walking down the corridor. "Bye, mom." She smirked one last time before rushing away.

* * *

She knocked on the metal door, waiting for him to open, yet no answer came from the other side. She knocked again, only to get the same results. Why wasn't he opening the door?

"Spike?" She called out loud, leaning her forehead against the cool material, trying to convince him to let her see him. "Spike, please, open the door. Please." There was a shuffling sound, but the door didn't budge. Well, at least he'd moved, right? That had to be something. "I know something bad has happened to you, Spike. Please, let me help you. Open the door." The door vibrated, letting her know he'd at least touched it, that maybe he was leaning against it as she was. "I've missed you. I... Dawn told me she went to see you after I'd left. I know it should've been me, but I had to leave very quickly. Only had two hours to get everything packed and get into the helicopter. I went back home. A friend of mine died. A good friend, from before I came to the states. I barely made it to his funeral. And then... I had to explain things to my family. I had to stay a while to make things... more or less alright. It was... hard and long, and I missed you every single day." She breathed deeply, closing her eyes and thinking back to the days back home with her brother and grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. "You know, I took some pictures with me, photographs, from the Gang, and my sisters, and you. Remember that photograph Dawn took of us when you came to my late-birthday party?" She smiled lightly, leaning more heavily against the door, her side flush against the cool metal. "I've missed you. Let me see you."

And even if the door vibrated, shifting noises came from the other side, he never opened it. So she slipped down to the floor, her back against the door, and sat there, patiently waiting. He wasn't well. There was something messing with him, and she had to be there for him. She really didn't care about him being the Doctor, or any of that shit anymore. She needed him and she'd failed him. Something had hurt him beyond recognition. Something had broken him. She had to be there to put him back together.

Eventually, she started humming, her voice slowly gaining strength, the humming turning into the lyrics to _Baby, I love you_ by The Ramones. His taste in music was a bit too hard for her, she didn't really get what he liked about punk music, but that was one song she had loved from his collection.

And so she started softly singing for him.

" _Have I ever told you, How good it feels to hold you. It isn't easy to explain._ " She closed her eyes, imagining them both back in the crypt, his head on her lap as she sang to him. The words started flowing, verse after verse, until she got to the part she wanted to sing in his ear, every night, as a lullaby. _"Baby, I love you. C'mon baby. Baby, I love you. Baby, I love, I love only you._ "

Every single word from that song was perfect, it portrayed her feelings for him so accurately, yet so simply, she could barely stop herself from shouting it out. " _Oh I'm so glad I found you. I want my arms around you. I love to hear you call my name._ "

And she sang the chorus all over, and over again, like a prayer, a plea for him to open the door for her.

After some time in silence, she checked her phone and decided it was time to leave. She didn't want Buffy and Dawn to worry, and Spike wasn't going to open the door. She'd come back, though. Another day. Maybe he would be feeling more sociable then.

* * *

Every day after that, she went to the basement and sat next to his door for a couple hours while Dawn was in class. He never opened the door, but she could feel him sitting on the other side. He was close, so close, yet out of reach. She could only hope he wasn't trying to hurt himself anymore.

She was worried, but still didn't tell anyone about him. She didn't want them sending her pitying glances. Her boyfriend was locked in a basement, probably a bit insane, and didn't want to see her. She knew that at least Dawn was going to pity her, and she didn't need that. Moreover, she didn't want Dawn getting distracted. She had just started school. Ally wanted her to be a normal teenager for as long as possible while she could still control it.

And then the dream happened. _From beneath you, it devours._ Her attempts at keeping Dawn from worrying were squashed when both Slayers started screaming in their sleep. The teen had no idea what to do, who to help, who to wake. Luckily, both Slayers woke soon after that, the youngest two moving into Buffy's room to discuss the prophetic dream.

* * *

When Buffy started working at the high school, Ally had to reduce her visits to Spike, also due to the fact that because Buffy had even less time, she started doing more of the house chores, shopping, cleaning, and cooking. It wasn't an everyday thing, but it was enough to keep her busy. Xander started driving them to school, like a big ol' family and she had to admit it felt nice.

While the blonde met Principal Wood, both brunettes walked to Dawn's locker, Ally feeling unusually affectionate, her arm locked with Dawn's and her head on the teen's shoulder. "I'm seriously thinking about homeschooling you. We wouldn't have to worry about this place trying to kill you." She mumbled as Dawn stopped near a locker and got her arm free, smiling softly at her.

"And it has nothing to do with the fact that you are alone during class hours now?" The teen guessed, her eyes sympathetic.

"I just miss you two. And it gets boring pretty fast. Maybe I should start going to the Magic Box to train while you are here. We could use the afternoons to train you."

"It's a good idea. Do you think...?" Dawn started, only to stop mid-question.

"Do I think what?" Ally insisted, helping her sister hold her bag open while she shoved a couple books inside.

"Uh... nothing. I was just wondering... Will I ever fight like you did? I mean before you were the..." Her voice dropped to a whisper as she leaned closer. "Slayer. When you were a Potential."

"You are certainly learning fast. Just... keep in mind that it took me a couple years of really intense training. I trained three hours with... a very experienced man, every day, did ballet five hours a week to strengthen my legs and gain flexibility, and ran or did cardio for an hour to an hour and a half every day." She sighed, her eyes drifting to the floor between them. "I lived for the slaying and training. I don't want that to happen to you."

Dawn didn't add anything but brought her in for a hug, rubbing Ally's back softly. It was just what the eldest needed then and therefore held her sister longer that in a normal hug.

"Hey, Summers." A voice said from a few feet beside them, making the sisters pull back from the embrace and look over at the boy standing there with a smirk adorning his face. He was cute, yet a bit overconfident if Ally had to judge from his expression.

"Uh, hi, Justin." Dawn greeted back awkwardly, a bit miffed he'd interrupted their sister-bonding time, but he could get away with it, because he was really cute.

"New girl?" He asked, glancing over at Ally as his smirk grew.

"What? No. This is my sister Ally. Ally, this is Justin. He's in my physics class. Ally's nineteen, she's just waiting with me until the bell rings."

"Twenty." She corrected, smiling softly at Dawn. "Missed it again while I was away."

"Oh, no!" The teen pouted, looking apologetic, before glancing back at the boy watching the exchange. "Uh, did you need something?"

"Uhm... Did you do that problem on page twenty-four? It took me all night long and I'm still not sure it's right." He took his physics book out to show the other teen the problem, Ally peeking over Dawn's shoulder.

"Oh, it's that one you helped me do!" Dawn recognized, smiling at her sister, just as the Principal rounded the corner, this time without Buffy.

He approached them, nodding in greeting at Ally. "Still around, I see, Miss Summers."

"Just spending some time with Dawn before she goes to class. You kidnapped my other sister." She joked, knowing Wood did have some sense of humour.

"I'll make sure she is returned to you in one piece." He retorted, the corners of his lips twitching upwards before glancing at the teen boy with the physics book. "Working hard, Smith?"

"Yes, sir. I was talking to Dawn about our physics homework."

Ally glanced at the paper where the boy had written his answer to the exercise and frowned. "It's wrong. You didn't take into account the coefficient of friction."

He blinked at her and then looked over the exercise, confused, before cursing loudly.

"Smith." The Principal scolded before turning his gaze upon the eldest brunette again. "That was fast."

"She's a genius. She has a doctorate in Physics from Caltech." Dawn informed Wood proudly, elbowing her sister lightly.

"Huh, aren't you Summers girls full of surprises." Wood praised, eyebrows high up on his forehead.

"You don't know half of it." Ally replied sarcastically before turning toward her baby sister. "Well, I should get going. I'll come pick you up later." She hugged the teen girl quickly before nodding at the Principal and Justin. "Bye."

* * *

Later that day, when Ally met Dawn at the front steps of the high school and they both waited for their blonde sister to get out, the youngest remembered their last conversation, and the revelation that Ally had reached the start of the third decade of her life. "I'm sorry, Alls. I'll tell Buffy and we'll have a party, I promise."

"With whom? Giles's not here, neither is Willow, or Tara, and we shouldn't get Xander and Anya in the same room, that could get ugly."

They both sighed, saddened at the situation of the Scooby Gang, both thinking of the member that hadn't been mentioned.

Ally didn't say he was closer than Dawn thought, and Dawn didn't reveal that he had wanted to propose to Ally. She hadn't told. She couldn't.

"I'd rather just watch a movie with Buff and you and eat lots of popcorn."

"Consider it done." Dawn smiled at her, wrapping an arm around her and resting her head on her big sister's shoulder.

* * *

That night, Xander came over to the Summers home with a pretty brown-haired woman named Nancy with an open wound in her hand and scared out of her mind. Something had just made her doggy disappear in a hole in the ground. Something big and strong.

Typical Sunnydale stuff.

"So, you say this thing just came up out of the ground without any warnings or signs or anything?" Dawn asked, sitting right next to Nancy, sandwiched between her and Xander, while the Slayers sat on the coffee table in front of them.

"Just this kind of rumbling, you know, like just before an earthquake."

Ally and Buffy looked up, recalling their prophetic dreams. " _From beneath you it devours._ "

Nancy looked at them like they were crazy, although it wasn't surprising, given they had just talked in creepy unison. "What?"

"Nothing." They shook their heads, dismissing Nancy's worries.

Dawn sighed unenthusiastically. "Nothing good."

Xander seemed to agree with her. "Sounding monster-ific, all right."

"Should we round up the gang?" Dawn suggested, already used to taking active part in Scooby businesses.

The dark haired man looked tired already. "Good thinking, except... this is the gang."

Ally couldn't take the pessimistic air that seemed to be setting on the group, and empathetically looked at Nancy. "Look, Nancy, we're going to get into this. And I promise you, if your dog is alive, we're going to find him. The only thing that I need is a little..."

"What you need is help." A voice interrupted her, making everyone look at the man standing in the doorway to the living room. "Fortunately, you've got me."


	18. Chapter 18

That was her vampire. He looked like he did before she left, he looked like himself again. No insane laughing, no dark messed hair, no rumpled clothes. Actually, the blue t-shirt he was wearing looked amazing on him. Skin tight, the outline of his muscles visible for everyone to see.

And for her to touch.

"Ally." He nodded at her, looking calm and collected.

That was her vampire.

"Spike." She nodded back, a tiny smile tugging at her lips.

The room remained silent for a few seconds until Nancy looked at the other three people in the room, clueless. "Who's that?"

"He's... It's Ally's..." Dawn started to explain, not sure what to call him. Ally'd left. He'd left. Why wasn't Ally jumping on him?

"Boyfriend. Or ex. I'm not sure." Xander provided, not meeting the other's eyes.

"I'm hoping it's still boyfriend." Ally joked, smirking, her gaze still locked with Spike's.

Nancy observed the couple, taking in the way they looked at each other. Longing. "And I'm thinking it's a little more complicated than just that."

"Always is." Xander agreed.

"You look better now." The brunette Slayer murmured, still a bit shocked to see him there. Specially, after he'd refused to let her see him for the last week. "New clothing. Better hair." She smiled once again. "Looking good."

"Oh, god, is she gonna start drooling? Can we make him leave?" The dark haired male intervened, getting uncomfortable.

"I'll be quick. We need to talk. Want to do that here, or privately?" The bleach blond offered, gesturing toward the foyer.

"Here." Buffy answered for her sister, arms crossed across her chest and glaring at the vampire.

Nancy looked around, noticing the tension coming from everyone but the odd couple that still hadn't taken their eyes off each other. How could they ignore the others so easily?

Buffy didn't seem to think Captain Peroxide was being true to his word. "You said something about quick?"

"I did." He sighed and stepped forward, closer to the girl still looking up at him adoringly. No one in that room had ever seen her like that. "Before I start, and for the record, the last you saw me, I was a mess -out of my head, admitted. Last week, living in the school basement," Dawn and Buffy frowned, their heads whipping towards their other sister. "well, you saw me."

Dawn stood up from her seat and approached Ally aggressively, glaring at her. "You did?"

Finally, Ally tore her gaze from the vampire and met her sisters' eyes. They were angry. She could clearly see that. "Yes. I just..."

"What? You just forgot to mention it?" Buffy joined Dawn, fury simmering behind her eyes.

"No. I was going to tell you when I got him out of there. He wasn't well. I just wanted him to be better before I told any of you, and I sure as hell wasn't going to tell Buffy about him being back and in the state he was in. You have an awful habit of beating him up, you know? That's the last thing he needed." She got up and faced the girls fully, trying to make them understand. "It's your first week in high school, Dawn, and your first day working there, Buff. I just wanted you two to not be distracted with something you couldn't help with."

"How do you even know we couldn't help?" Dawn snapped, offended.

"He wouldn't even open the door for me, and I've been there every day for the last week." The eldest brunette admitted, averting her eyes, ashamed. She squared her shoulders and tried to compose herself before sighing. "Just give us a second. We'll be right there."

They seemed to give in and went back to their seats, but not before Dawn shot the vampire a sharp glare.

As the couple left the living room to stand before the door, Ally couldn't help but feel knots forming in her stomach, twisting and tugging, making her wrap her arms around her middle.

"Are you better?"

"Said it yourself. I look better now, don't I?" He smirked, although it lacked the usual naughtiness behind his words.

"A better cover doesn't change what's inside the package." She replied softly, searching his eyes for the true answer.

"Still all wise and pretty, I see. Look, I'm here to help you." He cut to the chase, any trace of playfulness leaving his face.

"Help with what?"

"I was hoping you'd tell me. You're the Slayer. Connected to the visions. Long line of worthies, right? I'm just a guy with his ear to the ground, and even I can feel it. Something's coming. I don't know what exactly, but something's brewing. And it's so big, ugly and damned it makes me look like a puppy." He paused, averting his eyes and turning his head toward the door for a second, his posture tense as his hands rested on his hips. "I mean, if I'm wrong, say so. Lovely. No hard feelings. I'll go out that door and you can lock it behind me with any spell you like as payback for not opening the one in the basement. So, am I wrong?"

She thought over what he'd said, having a hard time focusing on something that was not him, there, right in front of her. He made it even more difficult as he held her gaze. "No." Her face broke into a little smile even as her eyes glistened. Why was she so damn sensitive lately? "You do look like a puppy. Blue suits you. Brings out your eyes." Shaking her head lightly, she tried to concentrate on the matter at hand. "But something is coming. Buffy and I, we both can feel it. So can you."

"You're gonna need some help."

"I'll gladly accept yours."

* * *

While Xander escorted Nancy home, probably hoping to get her number by the end of the night, both Slayers and the vampire patrolled the streets in search of the place where Nancy was attacked, and therefore any sign of the thing that had attacked her and ate her doggie.

Buffy and Ally walked side by side, Spike leading their little group down the street quietly. The blonde Slayer didn't miss the fact that her sister's attention was solely on the vampire, or the way he kept glancing at Ally over his shoulder. She had to hold back the urge to roll her eyes at their teenage behaviour.

"Think this here is our spot?" He finally asked, breaking the silence as he pointed the flashlight to a huge hole in the pavement.

"How'd you guess?" Buffy replied sarcastically, taking a couple steps closer to the hole, yet still keeping her distance. 

"I don't fancy sticking my head in there." Spike confessed, moving the light around to see if there was anything visible from his safe spot a few feet from the crater.

"Well, if something bites it off, that'd be a clue." The blonde Slayer retorted, positively enjoying the idea.

Ally shot her a glare just as Spike looked at her tiredly, but still conceded. Not wanting him to be the only one risking his head -literally- Ally crouched next to him and helped him remove some of the bigger stones blocking their view.

Buffy sighed at seeing her sister side with her dear vampire, realizing she was only pushing Ally away from her with her attitude. "So, what happened to you?" She asked, leaving aside the snarky tone and taking a real interest in the question.

"Those ghostly types in the school basement got in my head. Made me flat-out, bug-shaggin' crazy. And I'm not exactly braggin' about it, but they were stronger than I was. Made me see things, do things." He stopped investigating the perforation and turned his face toward his girl, then Goldilocks. "Hold the torch, would you?" As Buffy took the flashlight from him and pointed it toward the darkness in front of them, the Slayer-Vampire couple stared at each other for a moment, neither really sure what to say.

"And Ally saw you there, right?" The third wheel kept going on, purposefully ignoring the way her sister observed the bleach blond.

"Yeah." The brunette confirmed, leaning forward to look into the chasm before a hand clasped itself on her shoulder and pulled her back, the vampire shooting her a firm look before he copied her previous actions, taking her place, just in case. "Just... didn't see much of him. He helped me find Dawn in that maze, but..."

"I locked the door before she came back." Spike finished for her. "Wasn't in my right mind. Didn't want her around when... things got ugly."

"But I wanted to be there. I wanted to help you." Ally complained, glaring at the back of his head.

"You did." He answered lowly, so Buffy couldn't understand what he said. He continued, his voice louder this time. "There's nothing here. Just a bit of slime. Mounds of displaced dirt and such. Whatever our beastie is, he's gone."

* * *

Not much later, after joining Xander and Nancy, they all headed toward the Bronze, all the signs pointing toward a certain vengeance demon as the culprit. Looked like it was a wish gone wrong.

They found Anya on one of the high tables, sipping on a drink as a pretty young woman complained about her love life to her, yet the now brunette vengeance demon noticed them approaching her table quickly, interrupting her next customer as she was about to make a wish. "You guys, I am working... Ally! You're back!" Her expression got much more cheerful when she found the familiar face of the Slayer she had truly considered a friend so many months earlier.

"I'm back. Looks like you are, too." Ally sighed, sorry for meeting her again in such an uncomfortable situation.

"That's why we're here." Spike added, standing beside the grey-eyed girl.

Xander stepped a bit closer to the table, gesturing with one hand toward Nancy. "Riiiight. Did you turn this nice lady's ex into a giant worm-monster?"

At first Anya laughed, like she was trying to make them believe that was completely insane, before she decided that insane was the norm in this group. "Yes."

"No way. Are you saying that thing was Ronnie?" Nancy freaked out, staring at Anya wide eyed.

"You wish it, I dish it. I thought we were clear on this. I didn't think you were going to go all narc on me." The demon complained, not happy with the demon-police going after her.

"You wished your ex was a worm?" Buffy wondered, arching her eyebrows. That was a whole new level, even for her with her more than colourful love record.

"Well, we were just talking." Nancy excused herself.

"Anya has a way of making things happen." Xander explained not too happily.

Meanwhile, Ally and Spike watched, unsure of how to handle this situation. In truth, they were content with standing back, side by side, closer than they had been in a long time. Spike could feel her warmth on his side, familiar and soothing.

"I had a quota; the guy had it coming. What's the big?" The ex-Scooby shrugged it off.

"I think I'm gonna be sick."

"Anya, that thing you created burst through solid pavement and ate her dog." The blonde Slayer tried once more, getting more serious.

That got to the demon, who stopped in her attempts to make them forget about the issue, her face taking a broken-hearted expression. "Ooh, puppy!"

"Wait, that gets your sad noise? People's lives are in danger, and you give it up for the Yorkie?" Xander asked incredulously, staring at his ex in disbelief.

Ally finally spoke, crossing her arms over her chest and pouting. "Doggies are angels in disguise, Xand. Don't underestimate their value."

Anya agreed with her, shooting a nasty look at her ex before rolling her eyes. "You never understood me, Xander."

"Xander, who is this woman?" Nancy asked again, wondering what their relationship with the woman who had turned her ex into a giant worm was.

"Anya, she's, um, Anya. My ex."

"Oh."

"Hey, nobody's bragging here."

"Never thought I'd come back to this." Ally muttered uncomfortably, shifting in place, unsure of how to deal with the ex-couple. They'd been so excited about the wedding before she'd left, that it was hard to realize that was no more.

"I didn't even think you'd come back." Anya admitted in her typical tactless way, then glanced at Spike. "Or you."

"I'm missing something, aren't I?" Nancy asked Xander again, her eyes travelling from the odd couple to the vengeance demon.

"Ally left a few months ago. Spike left right after. They came back last week, apparently." The dark haired man summed as Ally approached Anya in hopes of convincing her more easily. After all, she had no hard feelings for the demon.

Anya knew what was coming and tried to finish the conversation. "Look, at least we're all bipeds, which is more than I can say for Ronnie, the worm boy."

"OK, guys, can we focus here for just a second? Anya, this is Ronnie. OK? He wasn't a worm." She indicated the size of a normal worm with her fingers. "Worms are like this big. This thing was like..." She opened her arms, gesturing something much bigger, like a trailer. 

Spike interrupted her, though, as he inched closer to Ally again, and therefore closer to Anya. "Sluggoth demon. Am I right?"

"Maybe."

Nancy, once again shocked at discovering the monsterrific side of Sunnydale, decided to intervene. "Wait, I didn't wish for that. I mean, I don't even know what this whatchamacallit demon thing is."

"Sluggoth demon. It's a very large, very nasty, natural predator who died around the crusades." The bleach blond vampire explained, finally looking at the woman whose ex they were trying to get back to normal.

"They had large, single mouths which expanded the width of its body, allowing it to consume large creatures whole." Ally added, getting a praising look from her boyfriend.

"Bookworm." She heard him mutter under his breath, a hint of amusement in his tone.

"Same phylum. It's not cheating, I just embellished." Anya justified herself.

"Well, you can un-embellish now."

"Bite me, Harris." The demon countered her ex with an assertiveness that Ally would have backed up if it weren't for the fact that Anya had done something bad. "I have rules to work with. Vengeance demon codes of conduct. But you'll never understand 'cause you're all still so..." She paused, her eyes moving from Xander to the rest of the people around her dismissingly. "human."

Spike seemed to think that was his chance to make her change her mind. "I'm not. Demon, just like yourself, Anya. Now, you're gonna turn the spell around like a good little vengeance demon or I... what?

As he talked, Anya had leaned forward, closer to him, staring right into his eyes. "Oh, my God!"

"What are you staring at?" He frowned, forgetting his previous request.

"It's happened to me more than once." Ally muttered under her breath as she started getting uneasy with their closeness.

"Oh, my God!" Anya laughed a bit.

Spike, though, finally realized what was happening and stepped away from the vengeance demon. "Right. Let's go." He walked backwards, yet Anya grabbed his arm, not ready to let him ho.

"How did you do it?"

"Spike, what is she talking about?" Buffy asked from her place next to the door, the rest of the group watching in bewilderment.

"I can see you." Anya insisted even as the vampire moved toward the door, the demon still clutching his arm.

"Nothing. Let's go. Got some worm hunting to do." He dismissed, getting annoyed and thoroughly anxious.

Ally wasn't sure what to make of Anya's words, but something started growing in her chest, a dark foreboding sensation, eating her insides, making her numb.

Still, Anya didn't give up, insisting and insisting until the vampire exploded, fury boosting his reaction.

"I said you shut up!" That was his last try. He punched her, throwing her off him.

Instead of just leaving her on the floor, where she'd been thrown, he followed her and punched her again, yet this time she hit back, kicking him and sending him flying to the pool table.

"I am so gonna kick your ass." The demon announced as she got back on her feet.

The vampire got off the pool table, swagger in his movements as he got ready for the fight, yet didn't get too far as Buffy stopped him mid-way. "You haven't changed, Spike." Gathering her Slayer strength, she aimed her fist to his face, knocking him down.

Ally wasn't sure what got her out of her daze, if it was Buffy hitting her vampire or Spike putting his game-face on, but she was standing between her sister and her boyfriend less than a second later. "Back off, Buffy." She hissed, getting into a fighting stance. Her sister and her hadn't really fought since the night Ally and Spike had found her trying to kill Billy, and it wasn't nice, thinking they were back to this.

"You're gonna side with him again? He's a cold blooded killer, Ally!" The blonde growled, not wanting to hit her sister.

"So were you, remember? Until _I_ stopped you. You're quick to judge when it's not about..." Ally snarled, only to be cut off by Buffy kicking her in the head, sending her stumbling back.

The junior Slayer was back on her feet in one jump, fists, knees and feet flying toward her sister so fast the blonde could barely defend herself. Then Spike was fighting alongside Ally, if only briefly, as the brunette herself pushed him away. It was her and Buffy, no one else. Not even him.

"Buffy! Ally!" Xander called for them as they had a brief pause to recover and breath.

"Not now, Xander." They shouted back. 

"Nancy. She's gone. And out there all alone, she's worm bait." He insisted, getting their attention off the fight.

They dropped the fight at once, turning toward him and glancing at each other for a moment. Ally sighed, knowing that they would have to solve their problem later. They had to fulfil their duty. "We'll go find her. Stay with Anya. Get her to reverse that spell." She shot a look toward Spike, still vampire face on, before running out of the club with Buffy.

She didn't even have to look to know her vampire was following them.

* * *

The screaming was easy enough to follow, leading the Slayers and vampire straight to where Nancy was about to be eaten by her ex. Buffy grabbed a rope in a nearby building and jumped to grab Nancy before she fell straight into the giant worm's mouth, Ally and Spike climbing down the side of the building to back Buffy up.

Right as the blonde Slayer recovered from her fall behind some boxes, the worm disappeared, only to turn up beside Buffy as she looked for him.

Ally stood next to Buffy, ready to fight with her against Ronnie, but Spike seemed to be hungry for some violence, as they hadn't really let him have any fun at the Bronze. He walked behind them an tore a pipe from a wall, brandishing it as a weapon. "You've had your turn, love. Leave the real violence to the demons, yeah?" He proceeded to hit the worm with the metal piece, making Ally jump back a bit while Buffy stared, dumbfounded. "That's right. Big bad's back, and looking for a little death!" He stepped back to gain a bit of momentum, and ran forward as he held the pipe over his shoulder, like a lance.

And right before he reached the worm, as the pipe grazed its skin, the demon turned back into a man, the metal going through his shoulder and making him scream out.

Ally wasn't sure whose screams hurt the most, Ronnie's cries of pain or Spike's. The vampire stared at the man in horror, his face torn with guilt for a few moments before he covered it with a simply shocked expression. "I'm sorry." He muttered before taking the pipe out of Ronnie's shoulder, the man falling to the floor.

Buffy and Ally burst into action, grabbing a blanket from a nearby trash can and covering the injured man with it, the vampire muttering to himself behind them. "Right. Wrong. All wrong. Wrong maneuver. Not hardly helpful. God, please help me." He paused for a moment and looked over to the girls kneeling beside Ronnie. "Help me!"

"You're not the one who needs help. He's going into shock." Buffy chastised as she got her phone out and dialled 911.

However, Ally couldn't help but frown at Spike's change of demeanour. This was not the Spike that had been with them all evening. This was the Spike that she'd found in the basement. What was happening to him?

As Nancy approached her ex, Ally stood from her crouched position and walked toward the bleach blond, still talking to himself. "No. No. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much. Too much... Inside me all the way. Deep, deep, deep inside me."

"Spike? What's going on?" Ally called softly, carefully getting closer.

"Get away!" He cried, covering his head with his arms and shaking them as if to shoo her away, making Ally stop a few feet from him, frozen. He didn't want her near? "Get. Uhh..."

"Go somewhere else!" Buffy screamed over his blabber.

"Oh, oh, lucky girl. Call it quits. Now, there's an option. If only it were so easy. If only-If only-If only-" He turned around and looked somewhere on the other side of the street, as if he could see something that the others couldn't. "What the hell are you screaming about? I can hear you. No need to SHOUT!" He finished with a long cry, hunching over.

Ally couldn't take it anymore. She had to do something. He was suffering. She couldn't leave him like that. She ran over to him and placed her hand on his shoulders, taking the pipe from him with the other and throwing it away before resting it on his cheek. "Spike. Calm down. There's no one here. No one's shouting. It's gonna be alright, okay?" She whispered tenderly, running her thumb across his cheekbone.

To her surprise, he started laughing, straightening himself and turning around, facing them again. "I get it. The joke's on me. Lots of laughs. Yeah. Hey, bring the wife and kiddies. Come see the show" He paused, his face turning serious again. "'cause it's going to be a circus. This..." He strode forward and stood right before Ally. "just the beginning, love. A warm-up act. The real headliner's coming, and when that band hits the stage, all of this..." He backed away, his arms coming up, gesturing around. "all this... will come tumbling in death and screaming, horror and bloodshed. From beneath you, it devours. From beneath..." His face crumbled, looking down to the floor almost in tears. "Poor Rocky."

Before a tear managed to escape his eyes, he glanced at the scene around him, stopping on Ally for a second before running away as fast as possible.

"Stay with him!" Ally ordered her sister as she followed after the vampire. She couldn't leave him alone.

* * *

The chase ended in a church, probably the last place on Earth Ally would have thought to find Spike. She walked inside, searching the shadows for him, the candles near the entrance and the moonlight streaming through the windows giving enough light to see the huge cross at the end of the aisle.

Why would he come here?

She treaded down the aisle, constantly looking around, until a tall shadow emerged from the corner and approached her. He was bare-chested, his t-shirt tightly clutched in his hand, looking down absently as he stopped a few inches from her. "It didn't work. Costume. Didn't help. Couldn't hide."

"Spike, tell me what happened to you, please." She pleaded, reaching up for him, only for him to flinch and recoil, finally looking her in the eye. She wasn't sure what was worse, as he looked terrified. "Sorry. Sorry, I won't touch you if you don't want to. Just... please... talk to me." She held her hand out for him, far enough not to touch him, but close enough for him to take it if he wanted to. "Can we sit down and talk?"

"No. No. No, no, no." He turned to the side, stepping away from her as he mumbled again, his voice trembling. "She wants the spark. There was no spark. Nothing inside. Nothing to give. She didn't say. Didn't say. Never said it."

"Spike." She called for him, still standing in the aisle as she watched him move around. "Tell me what happened."

More lucidly this time, he faced her again, even as he didn't look at her directly. "I tried to find it, of course." 

"Find what?"

"The spark. The missing... the piece that fit. That would make me fit." His breathing was getting ragged, more laboured, even if he wasn't moving at all. "Because you didn't deserve..." He stopped mid sentence and backed away again, back into the shadows. "God, I can't... Not with you looking."

Ally was barely holding herself upright, her hands clutching each other to keep her from reaching for him, shaking as she listened to him. What had he done? What had he been looking for? What was that spark?

 _The piece that would make him fit._ What the hell was that?

"I dreamed of giving it all to you. Give you everything. Even told the Nibblet. But I didn't have it. Didn't have anything to give you. And now it's here, in me, all the time." He walked around the benches, nearing her from behind. She didn't turn. He didn't want her to look at him as he talked. "The spark. I wanted to give you what you deserve, and I got it. They put the spark in me and now all it does is burn."

The spark. It burned. _They put the spark in me_. What was it that would make him fit? That he didn't have? Something he didn't have, but others did.

It clicked. She understood. She'd seen it before, hadn't she? The burn.

"Your soul." She realized, closing her eyes as tears threatened to spill.

He'd gotten his soul back. For her.

"Bit worse for lack of use." He confirmed, somewhere behind her, chuckling humourlessly.

She looked at him, the first few tears managing to leave her eyes and slide down her cheeks. "You got your soul back. Why?"

"It's what you wanted, right? It's what you wanted, right?!" His voice got louder as he walked past her and closer to the altar, the cross. "And-and now everybody's in here, talking. Everything I did...everyone I... and him... and it..." He paused and looked over his shoulder at her briefly, not even letting her see his face. "the other, the thing beneath-beneath you. It's here too. Everybody. They all just tell me go... go... to hell." He turned halfway, part of him still covered by shadows, yet his eyes were so bright, so full of emotion, they stole a sob from her throat.

The first of many to come that night.

"Why?" She cried, her mind making up images of what his life had been like since he'd gotten his soul back. Who knew how long it had been, before he ended up in the basement, before she found him. He'd brought himself so much pain for... "Why would you do that?"

"Why does a man do what he mustn't? For her. To be hers. To be the kind of man who would nev-" He cut himself, his voice already broken, like hers, and turned his back on her once again. "to be a kind of _man_." He started walking toward the cross again, his words more desperate. "She shall look on him with forgiveness, and everybody will forgive and love. He will be loved."

She wondered how he wasn't flinching away from the cross, the holy object like poison for them. Like her. She was poison for him. She'd done that to him. He'd gotten his soul back for her. It was burning him because of her, her mistakes, her carelessness. She'd left him in a vulnerable state. The vampire who had so much goodness and humanity inside him, who stupidly decided to give himself to a Slayer, to her. She'd just up and left, too caught up in her own problems to realize what he was going through. All that pain...

"I already loved you. I've long forgiven you of anything you've done, because you changed, without your soul... Because you were the one by my side when I had nothing... The one I could always turn to... I've loved you for so long..." She shook her head, trying to gather her thoughts. "I didn't need a _man_ , or a... soul. I needed _you_. I only ever need you. I'll always love you, no matter what... no matter if you have a soul or not."

"So everything's OK, right?" He wondered out loud before leaning against the cross, his arms going over it as his body started to smoke.

She had never moved so fast. She couldn't remember a time she'd been so scared, not since Glory had taken Dawn, at least. One moment she was in the middle of the aisle, the next she was grabbing Spike's arm and yanking hard, throwing them both to one of the benches on the first row, the piece of furniture crashing under their weight and sending them both to the floor.

He thrashed about, trying to get her away from him and crawl back to the altar, but she held his arms on his sides and straddled him as tears fell from her face to his chest. "Stop it! Stop! Stop it!" She screamed, pushing against him until he ceased moving, his chest heaving beneath her.

"She deserved better. She deserves better. Much better. Much better. Can't give something that's broken. It's burnt. Broken. Too much. She deserves much better." He whispered, his eyes set on her, wide open.

Ally hushed him with her finger on his lips as she got off of him, kneeling beside him. "She only wants you." She spoke softly, freeing his arms and treading her fingers through his hair as he watched her attentively, still not moving. " _I can't live without you. I love everything about you. I can't help it if I feel this way._ " She smiled lightly, caressing his face as she sang lowly. " _Oh, I'm so glad I found you. I want my arms around you. I love to hear you call my name._ " His breathing eventually calmed down, yet his eyes never left hers, holding her gaze as he relaxed under her attentions. " _Baby, I love you. C'mon baby. Baby, I love you. Baby, I love, I love only you._ "

And as the flames of the candles died down and hours passed, the girl held her love between her arms, his head on her lap as she softly sang to him, a lullaby like no other, with no intention of making him sleep, but keep him with her, safe.

When Ally realized it was soon going to be daytime, she helped him get back on his feet and pull the blue t-shirt over his head, placing her hand over where the deep scratches were the previous week. Only one gash was still there, and healing fast.

He was getting better. She would make sure he got better.

"Wanna come home? Or... You know, somewhere you can stay?"

"The basement." He muttered, his eyes studying her face as he'd been doing for the last few hours.

"You sure you wanna go back there? I can tell Buffy..."

"The basement." He repeated, interrupting her, before walking around her and out of the church.

"Wait, I'll go with you." She hurried after him, soon reaching him as he'd stopped to wait for her at the door, his hand lightly outstretched. She smiled as she took it, intertwining their fingers. "But you have to promise to open the door when I come see you, alright?"

He nodded, his blue eyes sincere as he stepped out of the holy building, the one place he'd chosen to do his penance.


	19. Chapter 19

Dawn had assaulted her with questions about Spike the moment she crossed the threshold of the Summers house. Buffy was up and about, stopping when she caught sight of her, only to huff and turn around in annoyance.

Back to the old times, it seemed.

"What did he tell you?" The teen inquired as she served some orange juice for the other brunette.

"Not much. He's... not well. There are some things I want to talk to him about later. I've taken him back to the high school and will stay with him this morning, see if he needs anything. I'll buy some pig's blood for him afterwards, when everyone's in class and there's little chance of anyone finding me with a bag of blood in school corridors."

"He's lost his marbles." Buffy piped in as she came into the kitchen with a basket full of dirty clothes, only glancing at them before she went down the stairs to the basement.

"You and I will chat later." Ally informed her aggressively, even if she couldn't see the blonde. She was pretty sure Buffy had heard her.

Dawn glanced from the door to the basement to her middle sister, frowning as she realized something was going on. "Something wrong between you two?"

"We fought again." The junior Slayer sighed, pouring some cereal into her bowl. "Don't worry, we'll work it out."

"I got worried when you didn't come back with Buff. You've been out all night long. Getting... reacquainted or nasty deal?" Dawn smirked lightly at the first option, making her sister roll her eyes. Hormonal teens.

"Uhm... no nasty deal, per se, but... it was complicated."

"Did he... tell you anything special?" The teen tilted her head curiously, trying to play down her eagerness to find out more about their night.

Ally frowned. Did Dawn know? "Special like what?"

"Like... I don't know... what he's been doing... or a gift?"

The eldest of the pair leaned forward over the counter, lowering her voice to a whisper. "What do you know?"

"Nothing!" She shook her head way too energetically for a sixteen year old first thing in the morning.

"Dawn..." Ally warned, narrowing her eyes threateningly.

"It's just... he told me, before he left." She finally admitted, biting on her lower lip nervously. She knew she shouldn't know about the proposal before Ally, while the other was worried for a completely different reason.

Ally huffed and let her head fall into her hands, closing her eyes tiredly. "Don't tell anyone, please. Not yet. I want to talk to him first."

"What did you say?" Dawn asked, lowering her voice as she shoot cautious glances to the door.

"That I didn't need it. Now, eat your breakfast, Dawn. We'll have time to gossip later. I'm tired and in dire need of coffee." Ally ended the conversation as she got up and grabbed a couple pieces of bread while brewing some coffee. She had ten minutes to shower, change clothes and be back down by the time Xander arrived.

* * *

 

He was sitting down in between some crates when she went down to the basement. Not far from the metal door, but at least outside of it.

"Hey." She greeted softly, a light smile finding its way to her lips as she approached him.

He lifted his gaze from the floor to watch her sit beside him, following her movements. His face still showed signs of the pain he'd been fighting all night, the burn within him that didn't seem to lessen. And yet, he was lucid enough to recognize her and see her, actually understand who he was looking at, as he laid his head on her shoulder when she was settled. The Slayer didn't hesitate to wrap he arms around him, her hands gently caressing him in silent comfort. 

They sat there for a couple hours before she left the basement to go to the butcher's, buy some blood and come back as fast as possible. 

By the time she made it down the stairs, he was waiting for her, pacing near the banister, only stopping when he caught sight of her. 

"Here. I've brought you something to drink... eat." She held the bag out for him, sitting on a nearby wooden box while he had his meal. 

He turned his back on her while he drank, most probably not wanting her to see that part of him. It didn't really bother him before, as long as he was drinking from a mug. It was like he could pretend the substance to be hot chocolate. The packets from the butchery didn't do as good a job at hiding what it really was he needed to eat. 

Once it was all gone and he was sitting beside her, she thought it was the best moment to tackle the issue of him getting a freaking _soul_ _._

"Did you want it?" She questioned, her hand slowly covering his. 

"Want what?" He frowned at her, unsure of what she was talking about. 

"Your soul. Did you want it? Or was it just because you thought I _deserved_ someone with a soul?"

He refused to answer, turning his head to look anywhere but at her, making her sigh and tighten her hold on his hand. 

"Guess I should've told you this long ago..." She breathed deeply. His head tilted, his ears ready to catch every single one of her words even as he stared at the wall across from them. "I told you about my ex, from L.A., right? He was the one that saved me from being killed the night my parents died. He was the one who trained me, and gave me a home, the one who prepared me to be a Potential... I think I told Riley this, but... just in case. He's a vampire. He had a soul. He was cursed by gypsies like a hundred years ago and... What?" He'd turned to face her so quickly she was surprised he hadn't gotten whiplash. 

"Angelus? Your ex is Angelus?" He growled, standing up to tower over her.

She simply stared at him, wide eyed. Hell, she knew Angel was kinda famous, but... "You know him?" 

"He's my grandsire!"

Well, talk about coincidences. "No shit." 

"You were with that poof? _That_ 's your ex?" His features were the epitome of fury, his nostrils flaring as his eyes sparked, blue turning to ice. 

"Yeah."

"Always Angelus, had to be him. Had to have her first. Always took what's mine. Always had it first." He spun on his heel, walking away for a few steps before going back to the stunned Slayer. 

"Hey. Hey." She was losing him again, he was going back to that dark place with voices once more. Striding forward, she grabbed his hands, which had been going up to his head and held them down. "Let me finish. You can shout and complain about it all you want later. Heck, I'm feeling like I've banged a grandpa and his grandson, and that's really creepy." She lead him back to their previous seat and forced him to settle down once more. "Listen to me. It might be more effective now that I know you know him." She paused and tried to think of how to start again. "Angel has a soul, as you seem to know really well. There was a little incident on my second year living with him, where... well, Angelus came back. And let me tell you, soulless Angel and soulless Spike, as different as day and night."

"He hurt you?" He hissed, his hands wrapping around her wrists almost painfully. She welcomed it, knowing he was paying attention to her, and not to whatever was inside his head.

"Nah. Others, yeah, but... not me. But the thing is, I know a soulless vampire, a true killer, one so evil there's nothing but darkness inside." She knelt in front of him, her hands falling to his thighs and rubbing reassuringly. "And I know you. With and without your soul. You're light, baby. You're so human, even without that part that people say makes us human. You love and feel so much..." She giggled, thinking back to his reactions when watching  _Passions._ "Even with his soul, Angel was darker. You are light. So bright. So warm." She cupped his cheek with her hand, the vampire leaning into it unwittingly. 

Her face lit up when he reached over and pulled her to him by the back of her head, making her stand from her knelt position as his lips covered hers, soft and gentle at first, bruising and passionate later. 

That was her Spike. 

She responded with equal fervour, climbing into his lap and grabbing his face in between her hands, his hands finding their way to her waist as they used to long ago. 

It had been so long... 

Later that day, with swollen lips and wrinkled clothes, Ally finally got off her lover's lap, trying to get her hair decent looking before going back to pick her sister's up. 

"I'll come back tomorrow, alright? If you need anything, and I mean anything, come find me. Anytime." She leaned down to kiss him one last time without letting herself lose track of time and smiled as she stepped away from him. "See you soon." 

She turned around, ready to run upstairs, yet his voice made her pause. 

"You do know Angel is Buffy's ex, right?" 

Her dumbstruck face was answer enough for him, who gulped down and backed away, further into the maze that was the basement. 

* * *

 

Ally stalked through the high school corridors, drawing the attention of slackers and some students with free periods to herself, although she made a great job of ignoring them. She had one target in mind, and she was not going to stop until she found it.

Her trusty military boots made a dry thumping noise as she advanced on her objective, her hands turning into fists and her breathing deep, carefully controlled. Too controlled.

The blonde new counsellor near the coffee machine on the lounge turned at hearing her approach, her face scrunching up in bewilderment at catching her death glare. She was so in trouble.

Without a word, Ally grabbed Buffy's arm and dragged her to an empty classroom, somewhere they could talk in private, never uttering a word on the way.

"What's going on, Alls?" The blonde inquired as her sister pushed her into the room and shut the door behind her.

"You're such a hypocrite, Buffy!" The brunette burst, advancing on the senior Slayer with as much fury as she could muster.

"What have I done now?"

"Your ex is a vampire!"

She blinked at the brunette, thrown off by the subject of their argument. Where was that coming from? "Who told you that? Spike?"

"Of course he did. How dare you judge my relationship with Spike and judge _him_ when you had your own fangy-love?"

"Angel was good! He had a soul!"

"So does Spike now!"

Buffy's jaw dropped and her eyes widened, astounded.

Captain Peroxide had a soul. He'd gone and gotten himself a soul.

"What?" She squeaked, too shocked to control her voice, letting herself slump onto one of the desks behind her.

"And you know what? Spike without a soul is a thousand times better than Angelus could ever be. For god's sake, he's better than Mr. Tall, Dark and Broody with a soul! Angel sulks, and grumbles and is a grumpy dude with the ethics so grey they border on dark-demony-side. How dare you treat him like you have all this time, after being with Angel? Had I known that sooner, I'd have kicked your ass so hard you wouldn't be able to sit for weeks."

"Wait, you know Angel?" The blonde's eyes narrowed, getting hard and hurt at once.

"He's my ex too."

"What do you...? Your ex? _Angel_ is your ex?" Buffy's voice turned into something akin a snarl, her hands clenching on the desk, the wood making groaning noises. It wouldn't take much more to break it.

"Yes, Angel. He's the guy that helped me after the deal with my parents. He trained me, brooded, made me a Potential, brooded some more, complained I shouldn't be slaying, and then bang! We got together for a few months." The brunette started pacing in front of her sister, fast and heated, rolling her eyes at the memories. "Then he decided that the good side was too good for him and sent me away. _That's_ the kind of guy you think is better than Spike. Spike changed without having a soul. He went looking for it. No one had to curse him to stop him from being evil. Chip? That doesn't change what's inside. He changed, and you still treat him like he's dirt." As the anger threatened to overtake her, Ally halted, breathing deeply, before facing Buffy once again. "Spike's got a soul now, so I expect you to not treat him as your punching bag as much as you did before, because, god help me, Buffy, I'm not going to hold back on returning every single hit."

* * *

 

Since spending much time with Buffy was out of the question, Ally had started taking Dawn to the training room in the Magic Box in the afternoons, after visiting Spike in the morning. Her days were once again busy, but that didn't mean they were necessarily easy. Sure, having her boyfriend back was a plus, yet the state he was in worried her more each day that passed. How could she help him get better? She could only think of _one_ person who would know what to do, from experience, but she didn't want to have to call _him_. Spike wouldn't want it, she didn't want it, and Buffy probably wouldn't want it either.

So there was no way in hell she would call him, not until she was much more desperate, at least.

Besides, judging from Dawn’s reaction when Ally had told her about her relationship with Angel, it wouldn’t be safe for the vampire to show up just then. Dawn seemed to think that her old friends had been mean to her, had somehow kicked her out of L.A., and Ally was not about to tell her the true story of what had happened. She just told the teen that her friends would always be her friends, and Angel would always be dear to her, even if she wasn’t exactly itching to see him again anytime soon.

It was one of those days Dawn and her had been training at the store and had decided to run all the way back home. It had gotten quite late and the sun had just set when they got to Revello Drive, slowing down the pace the closer they got to the house.

"How are you feeling, Dawnie?" Ally asked as she walked a couple of steps ahead of her baby sister, glancing back continuously to check that the panting teen hadn't fainted.

"Like someone set by lungs on fire."

"Don't feel like puking anymore? That's good." She smiled widely even as Dawn shot her a dry glare, hands on her hips as she tried to breathe as best as she could. "No, I'm serious. It's good. You're getting better."

The youngest brunette's face lit up considerably. "Really?"

"Really." Ally nodded, turning and walking backwards so she could face her sister. “And you’ll soon be able to come patrol with us.”

Dawn frowned, meeting her eyes. “I don’t know if I should be proud or scared.”

Ally, instead, rolled her eyes, but then looked at her sister softly. “Come on, your _two_ sisters are Slayers, and you have the best babysitter vampire protecting you too. Do you really think anything will happen to you?”

“Better not tell him that we refer to him as my babysitter, alright?” The teen smirked, letting her arms fall to her sides as they reached the front porch.

Ally pushed the door open, still looking at Dawn as they walked in. “Yeah. But we can go back to teasing him when he’s better. Hopefully it will…” She paused, completely forgetting what she was going to say as she caught sight of the tall man in a black leather coat standing in front of Buffy in the living room, both looking like they’d just been arguing. She would recognize that posture, that coat and that hair anywhere. “What the hell are you doing here?”

* * *

 

Angel and Ally stared at each other for a full minute before anyone else said anything. Angel’s expression was a mixture of sternness and fondness, a strange combination at that. Ally, on the other side, was just shocked, her eyes wide as she took the image of her former love in. He hadn’t changed one bit, he never would, but there was a certain… sadness in his eyes, more than she remembered.

Or maybe it was just her memory playing tricks on her.

“I should ask you the same.” He countered at last, taking a couple steps closer to her.

“Huh, I live here. You don’t.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’ve _just heard_.” He glanced at Buffy over his shoulder, his eyes as harsh as his voice. “Care to tell me why you haven’t called in _over a year_?!” He growled, closing in on her, his coat billowing behind him.

“Knew you’d get angry.” She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Didn’t want you coming to get me and getting killed in the process. I didn’t know you and Buffy had a history until a couple days ago. Wouldn’t have worried that much over talking about you, Cordy or Lorne to them had I known.” She met his gaze just as sternly.

“So what? You told us you’d travel some, have a normal life, and instead ended up in the Hellmouth? How does that work, Ally?”

“You know I didn’t want to leave. I didn’t want to stop slaying. Well, I ended up exactly where I should. Now, don’t pretend you didn’t hear me the first time. What are you doing here?”

It was a brief glance, a fraction of a second, yet Ally caught it. He’d looked at Dawn. Didn’t matter how schooled his expression was, how good a poker face he thought he had, _she could read him like a freaking open book_.

“You called him?!” Ally screeched as she turned toward her baby sister, who jumped back in surprise at her outburst.

“She did the right thing.” Angel, not happy with the way things were turning, tried to focus the conversation again, grabbing Ally’s shoulder and turning her toward him once more. “You shouldn’t…” He stopped, sniffing and making the other three women in the foyer frown. “Why do you smell like Spike?”

Ally’s face set into a determined expression, briefly looking at Dawn, understanding why the teen had called her ex of all people. She wasn’t happy about it and they would have a long conversation about _not involving Angel in her issues_ afterwards, but there was no going back. He could help, even if she didn’t want him to, and so she would have to use his help.

“I’m with Spike.”

“No, really.” He insisted, not even believing her for a second.

“I’m _with Spike_.” She repeated, a bit more harshly this time.

For a moment, his eyebrows rose, bewildered, but it soon turned into a scowl. Quickly looking at the other two women in the room, he grabbed Ally’s arm and left the house, dragging her behind, muttering “ _Give us a minute_ ” as he did so.

They stopped by the fence surrounding the Summers home, Angel pacing a couple steps as he tried to reign his temperament, one hand treading through his hair as his jaw clenched and unclenched. “Have you completely lost your mind?” He finally voiced, halting right in front of her, towering over the brunette as if he could intimidate her. She only arched an eyebrow in response as she crossed her arms over her chest. “He’s a vampire, Ally!”

“So are you.” She replied dryly, her bitch-face getting more and more annoying to him.

“Don’t start with that, you know I’m nothing like him.”

“No, you’re nothing like him. Doesn’t mean he’s bad. And doesn’t mean you’re good. It’s a choice. And he chose to play for our side.”

“He doesn’t have a soul, he won’t…”

“He has a soul.” She interrupted, averting her eyes for the first time in the whole discussion. “He got it sometime in the last three months. And now it’s eating him.” Sighing softly, she looked back at her ex. The change in her expression took him aback; there was no more harshness, no more bitterness, only sadness. “I hate to say this… But I need your help.”

* * *

 

The ex-couple didn’t take long to get to Sunnydale High. No matter what their past experiences might have been, Angel was Spike’s sire –grandsire- and he had a responsibility toward his childe. Even more if said childe had gotten his soul back.

They went around the main building until they located a window easy enough to open, just on top of a low protruding part of the high school. The walls were high enough to keep normal people from climbing to the top, but easy enough for a master vampire and a Slayer to go up.

As Ally got closer to the side of the building, Angel passed beside her, crouching and placing his hands so he could propel the girl.

“No need for that, hun.” She smirked for the first time since she’d seen him, running up, propelling herself against the side and jumping over the nine-feet-tall wall with apparent ease.

“How…? What?” Angel looked up from the ground, open-mouthed.

“Slayer.” She explained, stepping back to leave him room to jump.

“What?!” He repeated, too shocked to react yet.

“Hurry up, hun.” She rolled her eyes and approached the window, examining the lock while she waited for the dark haired vampire to reach the top.

The sound of his coat billowing in the air preceded the soft thump of his feet touching the roof, followed closely by footsteps going closer to the girl. “Slayer?”

“Uh-uh. When Buffy died… Wait, you know Buffy died, right?” She looked at him from over her shoulder and searched his coat without asking for permission, expecting him to still put everything in the same places. She was right, there was the little pocketknife he often carried. When he nodded, not even bothered by her search, she continued. “When Buffy died, I was Called. So now we have two active Slayers in Sunnydale, which… still doesn’t keep those idiotic demons from coming.”

Angel watched as he waited for Ally to open the window, the blade unlatching the lock through the little gap. “Buffy told me you live with them.”

“Yeah. Been with them since… woah, about… a year and a half now. It’s… so weird to think about a time when I didn’t know them. It feels like we’ve been together our whole lives and…” She paused and spun on her heel to face him again. “So you and Buffy, huh?”

His eye twitched, a sign of discomfort, but he managed to keep a blank face. “Yeah. You and Spike?” The last thing he wanted was to talk about his relationship with the blonde Slayer.

Unlike him, she smiled, happy about her choice of partner. “Yeah.” She couldn’t regret her time with Spike, not a second. He’d been her first friend after L.A., her protector, her lover. He was more than she could have ever hoped for. She wasn’t about to let him get consumed by the voices in his head.

Observing her pleased expression from the corner of his eye, he left her go back to opening the latch. “Looks like you’ve got a thing for vampires.” He commented, pacing around her while she worked.

“Looks like you’ve got a thing for Slayers.” She countered, once again going back to the dry glare.

“You weren’t back then.”

“No, I was a Potential, big diff.”

“It is.” He grunted sternly, quickening his pacing.

“Sure, hun.” She conceded sarcastically, letting out a happy hum when the window unbarred. “Come on.”

The walk down to the basement was short thanks to the brunette Slayer’s knowledge of the layout of the building, turning in just the right corners, soon to arrive in front of the white door leading to the underground floor.

“Why is Spike here?”

“I don’t know. I found him here. I… was away for a few months. Went back home.” She ignored the shock in Angel’s face. “When I came back, Dawn told me he’d left, and then I found him down here.”

“You went home?”

“Yeah. And old friend died. I got there just in time for the funeral. Almost gave a heart attack to half my family and old friends. I stayed for around three months and came back a few weeks ago.”

“Why didn’t you come back to us?”

“There’s been a lot going on here, and… I knew it would be hard to tell you I was not going to stay in L.A. I’m not leaving Buffy and Dawn. They’re my sisters.”

“We were your family too.”

She turned around so fast he barely had time to stop himself before they crashed. “You don’t understand. They _are_ my sisters. I was meant to be here. I was meant to be with them.”

“’Meant to be?’” He repeated, face scrunched in confusion.

“I had to be here, with Buffy. I was meant to die for Dawn.”

“You… What?”

“We’ll sit down and talk later. Right now, we have to get to Spike.”

* * *

As they reached the basement, their steps echoed in the silence. It was eerily quiet, more so than ever as they were no students trudging through the upper levels. It wouldn’t take much for Spike to hear them.

“Spike?” Ally called out, walking toward the last place she’d found him in, Angel close beside her. “Hey, I’m back, I..:”

“Oh, no, you didn’t!” The voice of the bleach blond vampire came from further inside the maze of corridors.

“What…?” She wondered out loud, halting in her steps at the scream.

“I can smell you, you poof!” Spike bellowed one more, still out of sight.

“That’s you.” Ally realized, glancing toward Angel.

“I know.” He nodded, his face set into a reluctant acceptance.

“Spike? Where are you?” As they rounded another corner, they found him stalking in their direction, nostrils flaring. “Oh, there you are.” She walked faster so she could stop him from getting to Angel, judging from his not-too-happy reaction toward his sire. “Hey, calm down. He’s here to help.”

“Why did you call him?”

“I didn’t. But he’s here, and he’s the only one who can help you.”

“Help me? This sod spent a hundred years moping and brooding. Not the best role model for ensouled vamps, love.”

“He’s the only one. Not much of a choice there, right?” She insisted, her back to Angel as she looked straight into Spike’s eyes. “Please, just… give it a chance, he might be able to rid you of those… voices. Please, baby. Just try.”

“I think I’m gonna be sick.” They heard the dark haired vamp mutter from behind her, making them both turn their heads to glare at him.

“You’re a vampire. You don’t get sick. And, please, I’ve had to put up with worse things from you.” She growled, not ready to have to childish vamps picking on each other right then.

He jumped right into the argument, taking a couple steps closer as if to assert his authority. “Worse things? Like what? You’ve never seen me giving the puppy eyes to someone else like…”

“Mandy.” She shut him with that one word.

Angel clenched his teeth and averted his eyes, giving them some room once more. He’d never argue with that, and she knew it.

“Mandy?” Spike asked, out of the loop.

“It’s nothing. Well, are you going to talk to him, then? Try?” She held one of his hands, her free one coming to the side of his neck to caress softly.

* * *

 

The two master vampires eyed each other cautiously, none of them daring to go against Ally’s wishes. The Slayer, on the other hand, observed their countenances, trying to understand more about their relationship as grandsire-grandchilde. They were obviously not too fond of each other, but they did have a family kind of bond, the kind that would have Angel willing to help him just because he was his grandchilde.

“Okay, I think it’s enough with the stare down, you two sit and talk.” Ally ordered when she got tired of their behaviour.

“You leaving?” Spike immediately turned to look at her, his hand holding on to hers a bit tighter.

“Wouldn’t you two be more comfortable without me in front? You know, talk about ensoulled vampire issues?”

“No.” His eyes flickered to the other vampire for a brief moment, clearly not willing to be left alone with him.

“Alright, then.” She glanced at Angel, shrugged and moved toward a set of boxes to one side, dragging Spike behind her.

“Wait.” Angel called before she could sit, catching her attention once more. “You’ve been staying here?” He asked Spike, looking around with his brow furrowed.

“Yeah. Had nowhere else to go. Kinda got used to it.”

“You really aren’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, are you?” The eldest of the vampires mocked, getting a death glare from his ex in return. “Hellmouth. Dark forces. Demonic energy. Not the best to be exposed to when facing a restored soul and its many complications.”

“’m not leaving Sunnydale, Peaches, but good try. Might be insane, but not that much.” The bleached blond scoffed, standing possessively next to the brunette, her hand in his.

“Didn’t mean leaving town, but the basement. Hellmouth underneath the high school? Remember?” His voice got condescending once more, yet he controlled it again after another look from Ally. He was pissing her off, and it was the last thing he needed.

The brunette turned toward her boyfriend once more, her thumb rubbing the back of his hand to keep him calm and in the moment. “Come home, you’ll be better there. We’ll get a mattress in the basement so you don’t have to worry about the sun.”

“What’s big sis gonna say?” The punk vampire sighed, knowing the other Slayer wasn’t going to be happy to have him around.

“Big sis can suck it up.” Ally hissed in return. “Besides, Dawn will be on my side. I’m sure she misses her babysitter.” She smirked, getting an eye roll from her boyfriend. “And you have to get better. She can’t deny we need you whole and sane, what with the sudden… decrease in the number of Scoobies in Sunnydale.”

“I still don’t understand how Buffy and Dawn are your sisters.” Angel intervened again, face scrunched up in thought, trying to figure it all out. So much about Ally had changed since he’d last seen her… He felt hurt, specially after living together for three years, spending so much time together.

“Destiny thing. I am the link, the middle ground, third sister, blah, blah, blah. I’ll tell you some other time. So we should get out of here, right? Away from the Hellmouth?” Her gaze moved from one vampire to the other, the eldest one nodding in response before she tugged at Spike’s hand to guide him toward the stairs again.

“Who called you, anyway?” The blond asked his grandsire, still tense and ready to fight any moment.

“Dawn. She just told me to come, that it was important. I thought it was about Buffy. Didn’t even know Ally was here.” He shared a look with the brunette, one that told her they’d have a lot to talk about at a later time. Probably some scolding too. “And the surprises just keep coming.”

“Nibblet sure knows how to hold a grudge.” Spike shook his head, his voice already softer when talking about the teen.

“She wants to help you.” Ally defended, hugging Spike’s arm to her side. “By the way, you told her about getting a soul before you left?”

“No.” He frowned, looking down at her in bewilderment. “Why?”

“That’s weird. She told me you did. I mean, first thing when I went back after that night with the Sluggoth demon, she asked me if you’d told me anything special, then said you told her before you left. But… I don’t know, it felt strange that you did.”

She vaguely noticed the way his eyes widened slightly before he schooled his expression, trying to avoid looking at her while they walked up the stairs. That was certainly suspicious. And judging by the look she got from Angel, walking behind them, he was thinking the same. Once he was home and settled, she would ask him about it. She didn’t want to discuss it in front of Mr. Broody.

* * *

 

Buffy was out patrolling when they got home, so it was just Dawn helping her get an extra mattress to the basement while Angel and Spike talked outside. She would often catch glimpses of them standing on the porch while they moved blankets and pillows down the stairs, but they still hadn’t thrown a punch, so she was not going to intervene yet.

“How is it going?” Dawn asked her once she was down in the basement again. The teen was arranging the pillows and blankets to make Spike a comfortable nest, while Ally fetched some more bed sheets.

“They haven’t started fighting or shouting, so I say it’s going ok. You know you and I are gonna have to talk too, right?” She arched an eyebrow as she dropped the sheets onto the mattress, watching Dawn shift a couple feet from her.

“I know. But I only wanted to help Spike, I swear! Angel is the only other vampire with a soul, so I thought…” The youngest brunette started to ramble, her hands moving on their own accord around her.

Taking pity on her baby sister, Ally interrupted her with a soft smile. “I know. But you should have told me.”

“You wouldn’t have let me.” Dawn pouted, hands falling to her sides as she fidgeted.

“I mean you should have told me before he came. Give me a heads up. I mean… it’s Angel. I think Buff would have liked a warning too.” She approached her sister and wrapped her arms around her. “But thanks. I would have been too stubborn to call him myself, but I think he can help Spike.”

“Anytime.” Dawn whispered, hugging Ally back.

* * *

 

 

When the two sisters made their way back upstairs, they found none other than their dear big sister facing the two master vampires at the entrance, arms crossed over her chest and a pissed of expression on her face. Angel and Spike, on the other hand, stared at her with arched eyebrows and slightly amused demeanours –‘cause getting a fully amused look from Angel was a real challenge.

“Huh, you’re back already.” Was all Ally said when she found the three of them standing there.

“You brought both of them back.” Buffy observed, gaze travelling from one vampire to the other.

Copying her big sister’s stance, Ally crossed her arms, stepping a bit closer to her vampires. “Yeah. Oh, and Spike’s staying in the basement.”

Her arms dropped, eyes went wide and her jaw clenched, all in just about two seconds.  “What?!” She shrieked, not even bothering to look at said man standing right beside her sister.

Trying to stay calm and collected, Ally leaned her head on the bleach blond’s shoulder. “The high school is just above the Hellmouth. Angel says it is worse for Spike, so he’s staying here.”

Buffy briefly looked at Angel before averting her eyes, apparently avoiding his gaze like the plague. “You could have told me.”

“I’m telling you now.”

Glancing at the men once more, her eyes narrowed and she gave Ally the sharpest look she could muster. “Can we go upstairs and talk? Privately.”

“Sure.” Ally nodded, showing off a confident façade while her insides trembled. She could feel another argument coming, and they were becoming way too common for comfort. She missed sharing a laugh with Buffy, watching TV, patrolling together. She missed her sister.

Dawn watched her sisters leave and moved her gaze toward the master vampires on her front porch, standing right in front of each other and following the two Slayers with their eyes. “Uh… hungry?” She asked, catching their attention as they arched their eyebrows and tilted their heads –and creepily did it all at the same time. “Ally bought some blood for you, so I guess there’s enough for both. And we’ve got those Weetabix you like, too.” 

“She buys blood for you?” Angel looked over at his grandchilde as they followed the teen into the kitchen, face almost permanently set into a scowl. “Huh, she used to do that for me.” He taunted, watching the blond go rigid at the mention of his previous relationship with the brunette Slayer.

“And then she left.” Spike shot back, hands clenched into fists.

The dark haired vampire’s brow furrowed even more, although he avoided looking at Spike then. “Because I told her to.”

“Shows how much of a poofter you can be.” The English vampire retorted, mocking, but he could feel the sting when he thought about how Ally could have easily stayed in L.A. with Angel and he would have never gotten to know her like he did then, that they could have easily never fallen in love with each other.

“You two shut up and eat.” Dawn cut in, getting a couple bags of blood from the bottom drawer of the fridge. She’d come a long way since the days when the mention of blood for sustenance disgusted her. Mainly due to the time spent with her dear babysitter.

* * *

 

Meanwhile, in Joyce’s old room, then Willow’s and now Buffy’s, the two eldest Summers girls stood before each other, arms crossed over their chests, having their longest stare down to date. Buffy was battling between shouting and crying, having her ex back and the miserable state her relationship with Ally was at the moment getting her extremely sensitive. She wanted the days when Ally was her support system back. Her sister, the other Slayer, the one who understood her duty and shared it with her, the middle ground between her and Dawn, the one who would always fight by her side. But there was always something –someone- between then those days. Be it Dawn, be it Spike, be it Angel… She felt like she was losing her and it was getting harder and harder to get her back.

She felt alone. Dawn would usually side with Ally, Xander didn’t have to get involved in their quarrels and her best friend was gone, as was her Watcher, and she had _no one else_ to support her. No one else to vent to. In the past, it was Ally she did it to when Xander or Willow couldn’t help her, as she did when mom died and Dawn was skipping school, or Glory wanted to take the Key, as she did when the social services wanted to take Dawn away.

She was so lonely.

“We need him, Buff.” Ally spoke up finally, her face softer than the blonde’s. It was a mixture between tiredness and despair. She just wanted her sister to agree with it, to not have to fight with her because of Spike again. She was so tired of their feud, she just wanted to go to bed and sleep for a thousand years. But she couldn’t, because Spike needed her help, and Dawn, and she had her Slayer duties to fulfil. “We need help. Something is coming, and the Scoobies are down to a minimum. We need all the help we can get, and Spike is a valuable asset. And _I need him_. I can’t leave him alone now, Buffy. I need to know he is safe. I need him to get better.” She was pleading by then, begging. She needed him there, with her, safe. She needed to know no harm would come to him in their house.

Buffy could feel her anger diminish while she heard Ally speak, her voice, her tone, tugging at her heartstrings. “I need you to talk this things with me, Alls. You can’t just get a vampire in our basement and expect me to be happy about it.”

“It’s Spike.” Ally insisted, ‘a vampire’ sounding far too dangerous for what it really was.

“I know. But it’s still… Spike. And he has a soul now, like Angel, and it’s… confusing, because he doesn’t act _that_ different.”

“Have you ever met Angelus?” Ally asked as she sat in bed, jumping from one subject to another.

“Yes. And I don’t want a repeat of that.” The blonde answered as she sat beside her sister, hands on her lap and posture still quite tense.

“Yeah, I know, but… What did you expect? For Spike to change as drastically as Angel?” The brunette tilted her head to look at the senior Slayer, trying to catch her gaze. “I don’t think Spike was ever as bad as Angelus. I know I never met him without the chip… Spike was already on our side without his soul, he was already… _good_ , more or less. Angel had a lot of room to improve when he got his soul. Spike doesn’t have that much. The demon is still inside, and it will always be a part of him, as Angel’s is. And he still loves fights, and violence… but he is not evil, Buff. He hasn’t been for a long time. He is paying for things he’s done in the past, but he has much less red in his ledger than Angel did.”

“You really are head over heels for him, huh?” Buffy smirked, taking in the passion with which Ally spoke about her boyfriend. It would be adorable if the object of her attentions wasn’t the bleach blond nightmare that had been bothering her since she was sixteen.

“Irrevocably so.” The brunette smiled, her face lighting up at the thought.

“Captain Peroxide can stay. But you will have to take care of him.” Buffy stated as she stood from the bed, walking toward the bedroom door.

“He’s not a dog, you know.” Ally reminded her sister with a soft smile, shaking her head as she made to follow her.


	20. Chapter 20

Sounds of an argument greeted the eldest Summers girls as they made their way downstairs, apparently coming from the kitchen.

“She can.” They heard Angel say, like he was trying hard not to raise his voice.

“She can’t.” Two voices answered back, both Dawn and Spike speaking much louder than Angel.

“I’m telling you she can.” Angel insisted.

“And we’re telling you she can’t! Come on, you think I wouldn’t know that about my own sister?” Dawn shot back, slamming her mug of chocolate down on the counter as Ally and Buffy entered the kitchen.

“Apparently you don’t.” The dark haired vampire grumbled before taking a big gulp from his mug of blood.

“Oh, here you are, Alls.” Dawn brightened when she saw them standing on the doorway, observing the scene of Angel sitting on one side of the counter, Spike and Dawn on the other, glaring at the former. “Angel says you can play the guitar. We say you can’t.”

Her ex sighed and shook his head before looking at her and nodding toward the other pair. “Tell them you can.”

“Not really.” She shrugged, moving closer to sit on the empty spot next to Angel.

“Lindsey said the first time he saw you was playing a guitar on campus, surrounded by some hippies, while he was working with some client there.” He frowned, most probably thinking Lindsey had lied to him.

Ally almost scoffed at how close he sounded to Spike when he mentioned Lindsey. Guess he still didn’t like the lawyer. Those two would never get along. “Yeah, he saw me play Hotel California, and they weren’t hippies, they were Art students.” She explained as she grabbed a glass of juice. At seeing Dawn and Spike pout because they thought Angel had proved them wrong, she spoke again. “But that’s the only thing I can play. Don’t even ask me to play the scale. It took me six months to learn Hotel California and it was only because I memorized the order and position of the fingers.”

“So you can play.” The eldest vampire repeated once again.

Ally shook her head. “No. I can memorize almost anything, but I’m practically useless with a guitar.”

“Take that, Ponce.” Spike leaned back smugly, sharing a high five with Dawn.

“Why Hotel California?” Buffy asked as she leaned on the counter beside the teen, being careful not to look at Angel too much. She wasn’t exactly comfortable having him in her kitchen, sitting beside his ex, who happened to be her sister.

“It was my dad’s favourite song. I wanted to play if for him on his birthday, so Riley and Graham got a friend of theirs to teach me.” She smiled into her glass at the memories. She had to call them sometime soon, she’d only spoken to Graham twice while she was back home.

“Those two really have a soft spot for you, Alls.” Dawn laughed, trying to prevent Ally from thinking about her dad right then. Dawn would bet her sister never got to play the guitar for him.

“Of course they do. I’m adorable.” She smirked, making the rest of the people smile, even Angel, slight as it was.

But then, his head shot up, eyes narrowing. “Riley? Buffy’s ex?” He glanced at the blonde for a moment, catching her eyes before averting his.

“Yeah. I met him when I was thirteen, when I was in the military base. Now, are you two done?” Ally glanced from one vampire to the other, both avoiding looking at each other. “I’ll take that as a yes. Come on, hun, we’re going patrolling. See you later, baby, Buff. Don’t go to bed too late, Dawnie.” She stood from her seat and moved over to the other side of the counter, planting a kiss on both Spike and Dawn’s temples, patting Buffy’s back and grabbing a stake from a drawer –hey, Slayers’ home. “You’ll see. I can kick your ass now.” She taunted the dark haired vampire with a smirk, knowing it would make him hurry up some more.

“We’ll see.” He shot back, following behind her and out of the house.

* * *

 

The moon was the only light in the graveyard as the former couple strolled through, looking for anything undead or demonic. Ally had tried to retell most of what had happened to her since she’d left L.A., but it was a lot and she knew he wouldn’t like some of the things, like Lindsey coming to Sunnydale, the AllyBot, Spike being the Doctor, or her fights with Buffy. He didn’t need to know about those things, anyway. They were lucky no vampire seemed to be out, maybe due to Buffy’s earlier patrol, giving them plenty of time to talk.

“So you’re not coming back.” Angel summed up when she was more or less done talking about the last couple of weeks, the worm-demon, and Spike’s situation.

“No. I might visit, but I’m not leaving my sisters or my boyfriend, my friends, my family. Even less while there’s so few of us. We used to be more. Then Joyce died. Giles left. And when I left… Xander and Anya broke up, she went back to being a vengeance demon, Tara died, Willow went mad with grief, Spike got his soul… I still can’t understand how things got this bad. I can’t leave them. To be honest, I need them more than they need me.” The corners of her lips lifted in a gesture more similar to a grimace than a smile.

“I don’t think that’s true.” Angel differed, watching her intently.

She laughed bitterly, the sound echoing through the empty graveyard. “I know it is. If I lost them, any of them… I don’t think I’d have a reason to live. It’s not the slaying that keeps me going, as I thought before… It’s them. Nothing terrifies me more than losing them. When I came back and Dawn told me Spike was gone… I think I was in a stupor yet, until I found him. Had it been longer…” She shook her head, trying hard not to think about it. “I need them. When I was dead… they could still live. With time, they would have gotten over it. It would’ve been harder for Spike… but he would have been okay in the end. I can’t. I can’t lose more people. I can’t lose those three.”

It was only when Angel ran his fingers through her cheek, drying her tears, that she realized she was crying. The mere thought of it was too much for her, too hard to imagine. She’d lost most of the people she’d loved. Too many people. Their faces appeared in flashes before her. All of them.

“I still miss him, you know.” She sniffed, lifting her gaze to meet his. She didn’t need to say a name for him to understand.

“I know. He was my friend, and I miss him too. But he wanted you to be happy. Doyle was always trying to make you happy. Not mourning his death over four years later. People die. You can’t avoid that. You can only be with them while you can.”

“When did you get so wise?” She joked, a true smile finally lighting her face through the tears.

“I’m two hundred and fifty years old.” He deadpanned, his thumb removing the last drops from her cheek.

“That doesn’t make you wise, just old. And grumpy.” The smile turned into a smirk and she resumed the stroll they’d halted as they talked. “I will try to visit you, though. When things are a bit more under control around here.”

“You’ll always be welcome.” He promised, placing his hand on her shoulder. “But don’t bring Spike.”

“You two are just like children. Centuries old vampires… my ass.”

He dropped his hand but kept pace beside her, looking around for any possible threat. “I mean… come on, you could have chosen someone better. He’s… Spike. I’ve known him since his beginning as a vampire. He’s not worth your time. He couldn’t even keep Dru, serious…”

He was cut off by a well-aimed punch to his jaw, throwing him off balance and making him stumble back. Holding his hand to the sore spot along his jawline, he looked in surprise at the girl glaring at him, feet shoulder width apart and tense stance.

“Drusilla was a crazy bitch who didn’t know what she had until she lost it, and neither she, nor you understand what’s really inside Spike. You want to tell me what’s good for me? _You_? You don’t even know what’s good for yourself. I didn’t know until I came here. He was the first person I could count on after I left L.A.! You want me to find someone better? There’s no one better for me! And if you, or anyone, try to treat him like shit in my presence, you will pay for it.” She hissed, breathing deeply before spinning on her heel and stalking away from her ex.

She simply couldn’t put up with his shit right then.

* * *

 

“What happened?” Spike asked as she walked down the stairs to the basement, where he was sitting on his new bed-mattress, watching the cracks on the ceiling until he heard her come into the house. Everything was eerily silent since the Nibblet and Goldilocks had gone to bed, probably a couple hours earlier.

“I punched him.” She informed him, shrugging, before plopping down on the mattress near his feet and taking her boots off.

“Did he try something?” He growled, inching closer to her possessively.

“No. He started talking shit about you, I punched him. That shut him up.” She threw her boots a few feet from the mattress and started shrugging her jacket off.

“That’s my girl.” He smirked, brushing her hair over her shoulder softly. “Captain Forehead is sure gonna be more careful around you now, love.”

“He better.” She leaned closer to kiss him once before standing up to take her jeans off, her t-shirt following soon after. “You staying here tonight?” He wondered, his gaze moving across the expanse of skin visible for him.

“Yes. I’ve missed sleeping beside you.” She smiled softly as she kneeled beside him and brushed her lips against his again, his arms soon wrapping around her waist.

“I’ve dreamt about it.” He whispered, enjoying her warm skin underneath his palms and against his own body, surrounding him.

“Just hold me. No need to dream about it anymore.”

* * *

 

Morning came with Dawn opening the door to the basement and poking her head inside, looking around until she spotted her sister wrapped in a blanket, under the vampire’s arm, nestled against his front. They looked impossibly cute together.

“Alls?” She whispered into the basement, trying not to wake the bleach blond. “Ally?” She tried a bit louder when none of them even stirred. When she got the same response, she sighed and tip toed her way down the stairs and toward the mattress. Kneeling beside her sister’s side, she patted Ally’s arm until she blinked sleepily. “Come on, Alls, it’s morning. We’re all leaving in ten minutes. Thought you wouldn’t like to find us all gone when you woke up.”

“Morning, Dawnie.” The junior Slayer murmured as she wiggled away from her vampire, escaping Spike’s unconscious attempt to bring her closer to him. “Sorry, I came back late last night. I’ll be ready in five.”

“You’re coming? You don’t have to go to the high school basement anymore.” The teen frowned, glancing toward Spike, sleeping like the dead.

“I still want to go with you there. I’m used to it by now. I like it.” She smiled sloppily and threw the extra blanket at the feet of the mattress around her body, cocooning her until she got to her room and could grab some clothes. “Besides, that way I can control the boys in your school and give anyone looking at you any way I don’t like death glares.”

“God, no wonder no one gets close to me!” Dawn mock complained, trying to fight off the smile that threatened to overtake her face.

“I love to watch them shrink in fear.” Ally smirked, then flinched when the soles of her bare feet touched the cold kitchen floor.

“You’re evil.” Dawn teased, elbowing her lightly, although she wasn’t sure where she’d hit her due to the big curtain the blanket formed around the other brunette.

“Guess that’s why I went to Hell.” Ally joked, before really stopping to think about it, her smile falling.

Dawn looked at her, shocked, mouth hanging slightly open. Where did that come from? “Ally, you’re not…”

The Slayer shook her head, walking a bit more quickly toward the staircase. “Leave it, Dawn. Just forget I said that. Didn’t mean to.”

“But…”

“Really. Just… leave it.” And with that, she got inside the bathroom and locked the door.

* * *

 

Dawn didn’t bring up the slip until she and Ally were out of Buffy and Xander’s sight, next to the teen’s locker. Her sister knew it was coming, but really didn’t want to talk about it. She’d only told Spike about her insecurities due to her trip downstairs, and she was definitely not going to tell Dawn she thought something was wrong with her. It would only make the teen feel guilty.

“Alls…”

“Don’t, Dawn. Really, it was just… it just came out. Don’t worry about it.” She tried to smile as she leaned against the next locker, her head falling against the metal. She was still sleepy and seriously pissed off at herself.

“But…”

As Ally’s gaze travelled along the corridor, looking for something to distract her sister, she found two boys about to get in a fight on the other end of it, near the door to the lab room. Well, she couldn’t let them start exchanging punches, could she? It was as good an excuse to escape Dawn as any other. She hurried down the corridor until she reached the two teen boys, surrounded by about three girls trying to convince them to stop before things got too bad. Didn’t they know boys their age never listened?

Ally stepped in the middle, grabbing each of the boys by the front of their t-shirts and pushing them away from each other as easily as moving feathers. “Alright, that’s enough.” She snarled, drawing their attention as the other girls grabbed their arms. Both male teens looked at her, caught by surprise at her intervention, given she was a complete stranger to them. “You two want to fight? Not during class hours and definitely not in campus. If I see you acting like pre-schoolers again, I’ll personally drag you to the principal’s office. Am I clear?”

“Who the hell are you?” One of the boys asked, brown haired, stocky and definitely in the football team.

“Your worst nightmare if you don’t do what I say right now. Back off and go to class. I don’t want to see you near each other for now. Understand?” She pushed the brown haired boy away from her and watched as two girls dragged him away, yet he still shot glares at them from over his shoulder. “And you” She turned to address the blonde boy, who glanced between her and the other boy as he breathed deeply. “better do the same. The bell’s about to ring.” She started walking toward Dawn again, muttering “Damn teens.” under her breath as she approached her. “I’m going home, sis. See you later.” With a quick hug to a shell-shocked Dawn, Ally made her way out of the high school. Spike should be waking up soon.

What she didn’t know was that Dawn was almost hyperventilating at seeing her sister break a fight between RJ –hottest quarterback in the history of forever- and another jock. Or that said quarterback was attentively watching the eldest brunette leave the building.

Damn teens.

* * *

 

Spike was already awake when she got home, but he was sitting on his mattress, the same way he would sit in the basement of the high school, one knee to his chest, staring off into space. He lifted his gaze when he heard her, following her with his eyes as she approached him, yet he didn’t utter a word.

“I almost told Dawn about… well, what I told you about the reason I went to Hell. Bet she’s gonna get really insistent that I tell her…” She kneeled beside the vampire and rested her head on his shoulder, feeling him relax under her touch. “How are you?”

“Better.”

“Really?” She straightened herself and looked at him, hopeful. “So having Angel here actually helped?”

“No. The Poof didn’t do a bloody thing. But now I can tell when it’s really you and not the other.”

“What?” She tilted her head, absolutely lost. The other?

He averted his eyes, ashamed of his own condition, until Ally placed a hand on his cheek and basically forced him to look at her again. “Sometimes I see you, and others, but you’re not here. Now I can tell when it’s you.”

“How?”

“For once, the other doesn’t sing. And she doesn’t punch Peaches, either.” He smirked, some of his humour returning. “She doesn’t touch me.”

“Well, I do. A lot. Of everything.” She whispered against his lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Well, not really, I don’t usually hit Angel.”

“Pity.”

“God, you two are just like children.” She laughed before fully kissing him. It only lasted a couple seconds, though, before she groaned and let her forehead fall against his shoulder. “I have to do the shopping. Do you want some books? Or… I can close the curtains upstairs and you can go watch TV.”

“Don’t need you to coddle me, love. I’ll be alright while you go do the shopping. Go on. I’ll be here.”

“You better.” She kissed him once more before running upstairs and out of the house in less than five minutes. Probably trying to do the shopping as fast as possible so she could go back to coddling him.

* * *

 

After a unfortunately too short morning in the basement of the Summers house with her very loving boyfriend, Ally found herself in the front steps of the high school, waiting for her sisters to get out. She was obviously happy, having spent such a good morning, her skin still humming as she skipped in place.

As Buffy approached her, she took in Ally’s chipper attitude, her eyebrows raising on their own accord. “What’s got you so happy?” The blonde wondered as she stopped right in front to the brunette, waiting for their youngest sister.

“I had a good morning.” She smiled widely.

Buffy’s face immediately turned into one of horror, grimacing as she shuddered. “Oh, god, I didn’t need to know that…”

“I didn’t say anything! It’s all your perverted mind’s fault.”

“Oh, please, you have sex hair.” Buffy scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest and turning toward the entrance, waiting.

“Really?” She stopped the skipping, trying to tame down her hair.

“No, but you just confirmed what you’ve been doing.” A tiny tug at the corner of Buffy’s lips made Ally smile again. It didn’t last long, though. “So, what’s with Angel and you?”

“What?” Ally arched an eyebrow, watching her sister with an increasing feeling of wariness.

Shifting in place, Buffy fixed her gaze on the stairs, where waves of students walked, Dawn still out of sight. “You two went out alone. Did you…?”

Feeling a spark of annoyance igniting in her stomach, Ally stepped forward, attracting Buffy’s eyes to herself. “Did I what? I’m with Spike, Buff. What do you think happened last night?”

“I don’t know. Really, I’m still getting used to the fact that _you_ and _Angel_ were a thing!” She threw her arms out, her calm semblance crumbling.

“Yeah, well, same for you. I’m gonna make myself very clear here, Buffy. Angel is my friend, he’s still important for me, but we are _not_ gonna get back together, _ever_. I love Spike and, sincerely, I’m way over Angel. And you should, too. We’re gonna have to find you a new boyfriend.” Ally sighed, shaking her head as she thought of what Buffy’s relationship with Angel must have been like.

“That usually doesn’t work so well.”

“Oh, please. You got Riley. I don’t know what happened for you two to break up, but you are lucky to have been with him. That was my dream when I was thirteen.” She smirked, trying to lighten up the mood.

Buffy’s eyes widened at the revelation, mouth open. “You… Riley?”

“Preteen crush. Come on, big sweet military boy? But then I realized I’d rather have him as a friend, big extremely protective brother. And I had a little crush on Graham too.”

“But better as a friend?” Buffy guessed, looking at Ally sideways while she kept her eyes on the entrance. Dawn was taking quite long.

“No. I was totally going after him. But I was… fourteen-fifteen, Graham didn’t want to risk it while I was jailbait and Riley got extremely nervous whenever we were left alone, so he almost always accompanied me when I was with Graham. I think he even started getting nervous when we met him after the Suvolte demon deal. You know, he even punched Graham once.” Ally grimaced at the memory, remembering every detail, every expression.

“Really?” The blonde’s eyebrows rose, her face turning toward the junior Slayer again, listening intently to her story. It was difficult to imagine Riley punching Graham, at least before the whole deal with the Initiative. They always got along fine.

“Yup. Some of the boys in their barrack invited me to play Truth or Dare with them. Of course, Riley forced them to keep it light, no dirty jokes or sexual stuff, no alcohol for me, etc.” She rolled her eyes, shifting her weight from one feet to the other. “One of them dared me to make something that would Riley go red, so I kissed Miller. Before I had the time to enjoy Riley’s annoyance and tease him, he’d gotten up and punched Graham, who, really, wasn’t to blame for any of it.”

“Isn’t that a bit… too dramatic?” Buffy sidestepped a couple teens pushing each other, laughing about everything. They looked so carefree that, for a moment, both Slayers watched them go before going back to their conversation. “I mean, it’s only a kiss, you two didn’t make out or anything.”

“Riley was _extremely_ overprotective of me, Buff. He wouldn’t leave me alone with any other soldiers, except for a couple of his superiors and my tutor. If he ever saw me with someone he didn’t fully trust, he’d come and stay right behind me, arms crossed, chest puffed out, trying to intimidate the others.”

The blonde frowned, unimpressed with her ex’s behaviour. “That’s chauvinistic.”

“No. Actually, I’m thankful he did. Not everyone at the base was… nice. There weren’t many female soldiers, and the few that were usually had to stay close together when around some other soldiers. Bullies, molesters… I mean, I know some of them were expelled due to their attitudes toward women. Riley and Graham always made sure I was safe. That’s one of the reasons they trained me. Just in case something happened when they weren’t there.” She smiled softly at this. “Sometimes, it really looked like I had bodyguards. It was pretty awesome. Oh, there she is.”

Both of them turned again to find their baby sister coming down the stairs, hurriedly approaching them. When she stopped in front of them, Dawn stared at Ally and arched an eyebrow. “Huh, good morning with Spike?”

Ally’s mouth dropped open, her hands going to her head once again. “Is it really that obvious?”

* * *

 

Spike and Ally were watching TV while Buffy and Ally made dinner, after spending the afternoon moving the remaining things from Buffy’s old room to the new one, preparing everything for Willow’s return from England. It was dark out, so there was no danger with Spike being out of the basement, lounging about.

“Did you talk to Xander? He’s going to pick us up to go see Will, right?” Ally asked, after a few days planning their favourite redhead’s arrival. Ally felt strange about it. She hadn’t seen Willow in her ‘darth Willow’ phase. The last she’d seen of her was sweet lovely Willow completely abstaining from magic, completely enamoured with Riley’s new wife, like everyone.

So much had changed.

So much was lost.

“Yeah, he’ll come over, get us to the airport, hold a sign he wrote for Will while we wait for her.” Buffy answered as she handed a couple bowls over to the brunette, face guarded, voice even.

“Aren’t you nervous?”

Her gaze lifted to meet Ally’s, vulnerable. “Very.”

Her best friend had tried to kill her and destroy the world last she’d seen her. Of course she was nervous.

Trying to comfort her sister as best she could, Ally placed a hand on her arm, patting lightly. “If Giles is sending her back, I trust his judgement. She’s Willow. Still our Willow.”

“I hope so.”

A knock on the door interrupted anything else they could have said. And it didn’t come from the front door, but the backdoor, the one in the kitchen. The Slayers exchanged a look before Ally carefully approached the door, cautiously opening it, only slightly, enough to look outside.

Angel.

“Oh, it’s you.” She grumbled, fully opening the door before standing right in the middle, arms crossed over her chest and legs shoulder width apart.

“Still angry then?” He confirmed, sighing tiredly. “I guessed you would be. Sorry.” He apologized briefly.

Ally arched her eyebrows, seriously considering shutting the door in his face. Was that it? It didn’t even sound like he meant it. He must have read her mind, because he continued as quickly as he recognized the look on her face.

“Sorry, I will try not diss Bleach Boy in front of you again.” He extended, getting an even higher arched eyebrow from his ex. He sighed again and stepped aside, letting her see the three piled wooden boxes behind him.

Ally blinked, surprised at his way of apology. It’d been a while since he last had to apologize for anything to her, so she really didn’t expect _piles of mangoes_ in the boxes.

“Well?” He wondered, bringing her out of her shocked state.

“Oh, hell, you’re forgiven. Bring them in.” She rolled her eyes and turned around, going back inside while Angel carried the boxes.

Meanwhile, Buffy had watched the scene with rapt attention, bewildered at their relationship.

Mangoes? Who the hell gives mangoes to ask for forgiveness?

And forgiveness for what?

“Hi, Buffy.” The dark haired vampire greeted as he left the boxes on the counter.

“What are you doing here again?” The blonde tilted her head, trying not to sound rude. She wasn’t very excited about his presence. It only made everything harder. And uncomfortable.

“I need… I’ve tracked a serial killer demon who left L.A. last week. It’s only about six hours away from here and I know you’re all… busy with Willow and…, but I wanted to get some back up before going after it.” He explained, leaning on the island as Ally stood beside her sister again.

“Willow is coming back tomorrow, I can’t leave like…” Buffy started to answer, only for Angel to cut her off.

“I know. Dawn told me yesterday.” He glanced from one girl to the other, shifting uncomfortably. “I was actually thinking about Alls coming. It should be done in less than a day, she could probably be back tomorrow night. For the old times.”

The puppy eyes were working their magic on the brunette, making her purse her lips in thought. She wanted to be there to welcome Will, but if she could go on a quick trip with Angel and be back the next night to see the redhead again… She really was itching to show her Slayer powers off in front of her mentor, as she didn’t have a chance to kill anything the previous night.

She was going.


End file.
